The monthly Consumer Price Index had no change for November as the price of gas declined. CPI measures inflation, or price increases. While overall inflation was unchanged, consumers still did not get a break for the cost of sheltering oneself rose dramatically.
The monthly October Consumer Price Index declined by -0.1% on gas prices. CPI measures inflation, or price increases and for the year has increased 1.0%. This is the lowest annual inflation since the height of the Great Recession, October 2009.
September 2013 Retail Sales decreased by -0.1% on auto sales, which plunged -2.4% from the previous month. Motor vehicle dealers sales have still increased 5.8% from a year ago. Without all motor vehicles & parts sales, September retail sales would have shown a 0.4% increase.
The August Consumer Price Index increased 0.1% from July. CPI measures inflation, or price increases. Take away food and energy out of the picture and inflation still only increased 0.1%, mainly on housing cost increases and medical care. A 0.1% monthly increase is a low rate of inflation.
August 2013 Retail Sales increased by 0.2% on auto sales, which increased 0.9% from last month. Motor vehicle dealers are having a good year. Their sales have increased 12.3% from a year ago. Without motor vehicles & parts sales, August retail sales would have been a 0.1% increase from last month. Building materials and clothing dragged retail sales down as they declined -0.9% and -0.8% respectively.
The June Consumer Price Index increased 0.5% from May. CPI measures inflation, or price increases. This is the largest monthly CPI increase since February where inflation rose 0.7%. The culprit this time is gasoline, which caused two thirds of the increase in CPI and by itself rose 6.3%. Take food and energy items out of the index and core inflation rose 0.2% from May.
June 2013 Retail Sales increased by 0.4% on auto sales, which increased 2.1% from last month. Motor vehicle dealers are having a good year. Their sales have increased 12.9% from a year ago. Without motor vehicles & parts sales, June retail sales would have shown no change from last month. Furniture had a surprise showing with a 2.4% increase in sales. If one removes gasoline sales from retail sales, overall the increase would have been 0.3%.
The June Producer Price Index increased 0.8% for finished goods. May PPI increased 0.5%, but April dropped -0.7%. For the year PPI increased 2.5%. This is the biggest annual increase since March 2012. Gasoline again is the culprit, with wholesale prices surging 7.2%. Core PPI, which is finished goods minus food and energy prices, increased 0.2% for the month.
The May Consumer Price Index increased 0.1% from April. CPI measures inflation, or price increases. The culprit this time isn't gasoline, but shelter, which increased 0.3% for the month. This is the largest monthly increase in the shelter index since July 2011 and was responsible for half of the overall 0.1% inflation monthly increase. Take food and energy items out of the index and CPI actually rose 0.2% from April. Shelter is part of this figure.
The April Consumer Price Index dropped -0.4% from March. CPI measures inflation, or price increases. The culprit is gas prices again, which plunged -8.1% for the month. This is the biggest monthly decline in overall CPI since December 2008, when the economy was at risk of a deflationary spiral. Take food and energy items out of the index and CPI actually rose 0.1% from March, so once again volatile retail gasoline prices are wreaking havoc in the overall consumer price index, as well as consumer's monthly budgets.
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