Inflation numbers for July were a pleasant change of recent pace, with prices flat from June. But as the National Apartment Association noted in its NAA Inflation Tracker: August 2022, things are more complex and the chances of the Fed stopping the upward march of interest rates is unlikely to happen immediately.

First the good news: the results were the best since May 2020. There are also other signs that inflation may be near to contraction, including the Producer Price Index. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the PPI fell by 0.5% in July, seasonally adjusted.

But here's where things get complicated. "The index for final demand goods fell 1.8 percent in July, the largest decline since moving down 2.7 percent in April 2020," said the BLS. "The July decrease can be traced to a 9.0-percent drop in prices for final demand energy. Conversely, the indexes for final demand foods and for final demand goods less foods and energy rose 1.0 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively."