Nowflation Gauge holds at 1.74% YoY, up 0.005pp on the day, as motor fuel prices tick higher.

The Daily Brief for July 8, 2026, as the data stood that morning · Gauge-CPI gap widens. Nowflation Gauge 2.91% year over year on 2026-07-08 — +0.009pp on the day, −0.035pp on the week, −0.482pp on the month; seasonally adjusted pace 0.73% annualized over three months and −3.21% over one. Official CPI 4.2% (May 2026, released 2026-06-10); gap −1.29pp. About 43% of the basket is priced from live sources; the rest holds the latest BLS subindex as measured.

What moved

Gauge 2.91% YoY, +0.009pp on the day and −0.035pp on the week; seasonally adjusted pace 0.73% annualized over three months, −3.21% over one.
Motor Fuel +0.16% on the day (−1.09% on the week, 21.25% YoY) — +0.47bps to the headline.
Gauge runs −1.29pp versus the May 2026 print of 4.2%; June 2026 CPI lands in 6 days — Nowflation Forecast 3.94% vs Street 3.8%, Cleveland Fed 3.92%.

The wire

The Nowflation Gauge stands at 1.74% YoY on 2026-07-08, up 0.005pp day-on-day but down 0.133pp week-on-week and 0.669pp month-on-month, with cumulative inflation since January 2018 at 33.9%. Motor Fuel leads daily moves, +0.16% DoD, -1.09% WoW, -8.61% MoM, yet still +21.25% YoY, contributing 0.47bps to the daily print. Shelter: Owned holds at 2.72% YoY, Shelter: Rent at 0.69% YoY, both flat on the day. The gauge trails the official May 2026 CPI print (4.2% YoY, up from 3.8%, highest since April 2023) by 2.46pp, pointing to downside risk for the June 2026 release, tracked at 4.025% versus a 3.9% Street consensus. Pump prices sit at $3.796, with the two-week forward at $3.797, up 0.1 cents.

As written on 2026-07-08, under the gauge construction in force that day; the readings above reflect the current construction (v1.3, since September 2, 2026), so the levels differ.

The print ahead — June 2026 CPI, Tuesday, July 14, 2026 at 8:30 AM ET (printed 3.5%)

Forecaster	Headline CPI YoY call
Nowflation Forecast (pre-registered ensemble)	3.94%
Nowflation model (in-house)	4.03%
Street consensus	3.8%
Cleveland Fed nowcast	3.92%
Kalshi market-implied	3.79%
Prior print	4.2%

Our call sits +0.14pp versus the Street; the Gauge runs −1.29pp versus the May 2026 print of 4.2% that this release replaces. Graded: the call missed by +0.44pp. The forecast is a separate product from the Gauge — the Gauge measures today's prices; the forecast is the pre-registered call for what the BLS will print, graded after every release (June 2026 preview and grading).

Shelter, fuel, Truflation, jobs

Shelter: all-tenant rent index 1.71% YoY (+0.14% month over month), the reading the Gauge uses as measured; owned shelter 3.32% YoY; official rent 2.86% and owners' equivalent rent 3.23% (2026-07, BLS).
Fuel: pump price $3.796 (AAA daily, 2026-07-08); RBOB implies $3.816 in two weeks (+2.0¢).
Truflation: 1.89% (2026-07-08); the Gauge is +1.02pp against it and Truflation is −2.31pp against the official print — a different construction, reconciled on the Nowflation vs Truflation page.
Jobs: July 2026 payrolls land August 7, 2026 (30 days): Nowflation model +75K vs Street +80K; printed −23K.

Method

The Nowflation Gauge is a measurement of today’s prices — live market sources for the components that have them (all-tenant rents measured from this month’s new leases, pump prices, used-vehicle auctions) and the latest BLS subindex, held as measured, for the rest. It is never a forecast. The print-day call is a separate product: the Nowflation Forecast is the pre-registered ensemble for the next CPI release (locked the evening before, graded after); the in-house model is shown alongside it. The wire paragraph is written by Claude from the day’s engine figures only (model alias in each record; a deterministic template when the API is unavailable). The “what moved” bullets are computed, not written. recomputed 8:40 AM & 6 PM ET · published 9 AM ET · 8:45 AM ET on print days. Methodology · every input, exposed · calendar feed, RSS and email.

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