6% inflation rate???
This should explain this morning's drop
usatoday.com
Prices Jump 0.5 Percent in Sept.
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON - Consumer prices jumped 0.5% in September, the biggest
advance since June, as energy prices rebounded sharply, the Labor
Department said Wednesday.
The increase in the Consumer Price Index, the government's most closely
watched inflation gauge, followed a 0.1% decline in August, which had
been the first drop in 14 years.
In both August and September, the CPI was dominated by energy
movements. After falling by 2.9% in August, energy prices shot up 3.8%
in September, the biggest advance since a 5.6% surge in June.
The big rise in energy, which consumers have felt in sharply rising
gasoline prices and home heating oil costs, prompted President Clinton
last month to order the release of oil from the government's Strategic
Petroleum Reserve.
While so far, the steep increases have been mainly contained in the
energy sector, economists are worried about a spillover effect that could
send overall inflation higher, setting off alarm bells at the Federal
Reserve. |
