=DJ DATA SNAP: Nov Core CPI At Lowest Since June 2005
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Nov Consumer Price Index ! Consensus !
Key Numbers: Nov Oct ! Overall: +0.2% !
CPI Index: Unch% -0.5% ! Core: +0.2% !
Core Index: Unch% +0.1% ! Actual: !
Energy: -0.2% -7.0% ! Overall: Unch% !
! Core: Unch% !
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By Jeff Bater
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Consumer prices were unexpectedly flat during November as food and energy prices fell, and core inflation was also unchanged, posting its lowest reading in more than a year.
The consumer price index was unchanged, as were consumer prices excluding food and energy, the Labor Department said Friday. The reading on the core was the lowest since it was flat in June 2005.
In October, the CPI fell 0.5% and the core inched up 0.1%.
Unrounded, the core CPI rose 0.048% in November; it rose 0.096% in October.
The median forecasts of 25 economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires were a 0.2% increase in consumer prices overall and a 0.2% increase in the core index.
The Federal Reserve decided this week to hold the federal funds rate at 5.25% a fourth straight time, following two years of increases to keep the economy from overheating and fanning inflation. The Fed has judged the economy will expand modestly going forward and inflation pressures will likely moderate over time. Hopes on Wall Street are for a rate reduction.
Overall consumer prices were 2.0% higher than a year earlier, on an unadjusted basis. Core prices rose 2.6% in the 12 months ending in November 2005.
Energy prices last month decreased by 0.2%, after tumbling by 7.0% in October. Gasoline prices last month dropped by a seasonally adjusted 1.6%. Natural gas increased 4.7%. Electricity prices dipped 0.2%.
Food prices decreased 0.1%.
The transportation index was 0.9% lower, as gas prices fell and new vehicle prices were down 0.7%. Transportation costs in September fell 3.1%.
Medical care prices increased 0.2%.
Housing, which accounts for 40% of the index, rose by 0.4%, after remaining flat in October. Rent climbed by 0.4% and owners' equivalent rent also rose 0.3%.
Clothing prices decreased 0.3%, while education and communication fell 0.2%.
In a separate report, the Labor Department said the average weekly earnings of U.S. workers, adjusted for inflation, increased 0.2% in November. Average hourly earnings rose 0.2%. Average weekly hours were unchanged.
-By Jeff Bater, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6616; jeff.bater@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
12-15-06 0830ET |
