One month does not make a trend, but inflation did indeed moderate in July. 

The consumer price index rose 8.5% year-over-year – after jumping a scorching 9.1% in June – and was unchanged on a month-to-month basis. Core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy components, rose 5.9% from a year ago and just 0.3% vs. June.

Both the headline and core inflation readings came in blessedly below forecast.  But although the data offer a welcome respite for consumers – not to mention the Federal Reserve's interest-rate setting committee – experts are split on where consumer prices and Fed policy goes from here. 

In order to get a sense of what economists and market strategists are thinking about these latest developments, we've excerpted some of their commentary on the July CPI report below:

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