Consumer prices for apparel stayed the same in July after falling 0.4% in June.
In fact, prices were unchanged overall last month, according to the U.S. Labor Department’s latest Consumer Price Index (CPI), released Tuesday, which is based on what people pay for food, clothing, fuels and other goods and services on a day-to-day basis. By comparison, the index increased 0.2% in both June and May and by 0.4% in April.
Prices for all items excluding food and energy rose 0.1% in July—its smallest increase since March—and are up 2.2% from a year ago.
By category, men’s apparel prices inched up 0.6% in July and by 0.1% from a year earlier, while womenswear prices rose 0.4% in the month and were up 1.6% compared with last year. In childrenswear, boys’ apparel prices increased 1.1% in July (up 3.1% year-over-year), but girls’ apparel prices were down a whopping 5.5% in the month and declined 4.7% from a year ago. Infant and toddler apparel prices recovered from a 2.5% decrease in June to increase by 2.7% last month, but are still down 3.2% year-over-year.
