[July CPI Expected to Slightly Decline, Divergence Between Citi and Bank of America on September Rate Hike Outlook] BlockBeats News, August 9: According to a Reuters survey, economists predict that the U.S. overall CPI annual rate for July will drop from 3.5% in June to 3.4%, while the core CPI annual rate will decrease from 2.6% last month to 2.5%. Economists at Citigroup believe that if inflation readings soften for the second consecutive month as expected, it would indicate more than one month of data pointing to easing inflationary pressures, effectively ruling out the likelihood of a rate hike in September. However, economists also anticipate a slight increase in core services inflation for July, with prices rising 0.3% month-on-month. This follows a flat reading from May to June. Analysts at Bank of America argue that the rebound in core services metrics could keep a September rate hike on the table. Analyst Kate Duguid stated that if the latter view prevails and inflation data comes in below expectations, the Federal Reserve may delay a rate hike until December or later. (Jin10)