Nowflation Gauge holds at 1.88% YoY, down 0.008pp on the day and 0.254pp on the week, as Motor Fuel extends its pullback.

The Daily Brief for August 5, 2026, as the data stood that morning · Fuel-led disinflation. Nowflation Gauge 2.96% year over year on 2026-08-05 — −0.024pp on the day, −0.026pp on the week, +0.056pp on the month; seasonally adjusted pace 0.75% annualized over three months and 4.18% over one. Official CPI 3.5% (June 2026, released 2026-07-14); gap −0.54pp. About 43% of the basket is priced from live sources; the rest holds the latest BLS subindex as measured.

What moved

Gauge 2.96% YoY, −0.024pp on the day and −0.026pp on the week; seasonally adjusted pace 0.75% annualized over three months, 4.18% over one.
Motor Fuel −0.22% on the day (−0.27% on the week, 29.70% YoY) — −0.66bps to the headline.
Gauge runs −0.54pp versus the June 2026 print of 3.5%; July 2026 CPI lands in 7 days — Nowflation Forecast 3.42% vs Street 3.4%, Cleveland Fed 3.42%.

The wire

The Nowflation Gauge prints 1.88% YoY, off 0.008pp DoD and 0.254pp WoW, though up 0.049pp MoM. Motor Fuel remains the swing factor: -0.22% DoD, -0.27% WoW, but still +7.45% MoM and +29.7% YoY. Shelter: Owned sits at 2.62% YoY versus Used Vehicles at -3.06% YoY, underscoring uneven pass-through. The gauge runs 1.63pp below official CPI (3.5% YoY, June 2026, prior 4.2%), consistent with its real-time read lagging headline stickiness. For the upcoming July print, Nowflation Nowflation Forecasts 3.46% versus Street's 3.4%, implying limited further deceleration. Pump prices at $4.08 versus a 2-week forward of $3.819 (-26.1 cents) point to additional fuel-driven relief ahead.

As written on 2026-08-05, 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 — July 2026 CPI, Wednesday, August 12, 2026 at 8:30 AM ET (printed 3.4%)

Forecaster	Headline CPI YoY call
Nowflation Forecast (pre-registered ensemble)	3.42%
Nowflation model (in-house)	3.46%
Street consensus	3.4%
Cleveland Fed nowcast	3.42%
Kalshi market-implied	3.39%
Prior print	3.5%

Our call sits +0.02pp versus the Street; the Gauge runs −0.54pp versus the June 2026 print of 3.5% that this release replaces. Graded: the call missed by +0.02pp. 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 (July 2026 preview and grading).

Shelter, fuel, Truflation, jobs

Shelter: all-tenant rent index 1.68% YoY (+0.15% month over month), the reading the Gauge uses as measured; owned shelter 3.25% YoY; official rent 2.86% and owners' equivalent rent 3.23% (2026-07, BLS).
Fuel: pump price $4.080 (AAA daily, 2026-08-05), −1.1¢ on the week; RBOB implies $3.815 in two weeks (−26.5¢).
Truflation: 2.28% (2026-08-05); the Gauge is +0.68pp against it and Truflation is −1.22pp against the official print — a different construction, reconciled on the Nowflation vs Truflation page.
Jobs: July 2026 payrolls land August 7, 2026 (2 days): Nowflation model +198K 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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