Wednesday the government will tell us how much prices changed year over year in July. Inflation was an alarming 9.1% in June.

While consumers cut back on goods spending, spending on services jumped.

After reaching a record high of nearly 34% early in the pandemic, the savings rate has dipped below its pre-pandemic level.

People want to get outside and do stuff, not just buy stuff. That’s reflected in surging travel bookings — and airfare.

But they’ll shift back when goods they want — like cars — become available.

Big stores like Walmart and Target didn’t foresee consumers pivoting away from shopping and toward going out.

When conditions leading to inflation ease, don’t get your hopes up that prices will go the other way.

The cost of commodities has gone way up, and spendy raw materials suggest more inflation in 2022.

IHS Markit’s Purchasing Managers’ Indexes for services and manufacturing are a mixed bag.

Manufacturers say they’re still optimistic that demand will be there for goods they make. But consumers may start to pull back spending on services.