Consumer Price Index Unchanged in July

The consumer price index was unchanged in July, the Labor Department said Friday.

The flat reading followed a 0.7% gain in June led by fuel prices.

The so-called core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.1%, Labor said.

The reading of the CPI, the government’s main gauge of inflation, matched economists’ forecasts, Bloomberg reported.

The CPI is the government’s broadest gauge of costs for goods and services. Almost 60% of the CPI covers prices consumers pay for services.

If consumer prices are climbing, it could reflect an increase in demand for consumer goods, which increases the demand for trucking services.