Gas station signboards display prices in Bethesda, Maryland on August 6, 2023.Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty ImagesThursday’s consumer price index report likely will show that the pace of price increases is easing, but not enough to get the Federal Reserve to retreat on its inflation fight.If the Wall Street consensus as gauged by Dow Jones is correct, the closely watched consumer price index will show a monthly increase of 0.2% for July and a 12-month rate of just 3.3%.The latter number pales in comparison to the 8.5% annual rate that the CPI registered a year ago, a reading that was just off the highest level in more than 40 years. Excluding food and energy, the monthly estimate also is 0.2%, though the 12-month rate is being put at 4.8%.If that all sounds like at least marginally good news, it is. Multiple data points have indicated that inflationary pressures have eased considerably from their 2022 levels.But history has shown that inflation is stubborn and can last longer than expected once it be …
