Consumer prices continued to climb in July, but at a slower monthly pace

While still elevated, the 0.5% increase in July comes after a 0.9% rise in June.

Consumer prices continued to climb in July, further stoking concerns over inflation as the economy rebounds from the COVID-19 shock. The Consumer Price Index, often looked to as a measure of inflation, spiked 5.4% over the last 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday. This is the same pace reported in June, tying for the highest 12-month increase since August 2008. The index rose 0.5% in July alone, the BLS said, leveling off somewhat from the 0.9% increase seen in June. "This month's increases were comparatively tame relative to what we had seen the last few months, and that's in large part because the low bar of a year-ago number is starting to drop out," Greg McBride, the chief financial analyst at Bankrate, told ABC News on Wednesday.