Consumer prices dropped overall in September, according to the latest BLS estimate of the Consumer Price Index (CPI).  The CPI fell by 0.2 %, taking the index back down to the level where it was one year ago.  Think about that: many prices have risen over the past year, but the typical U.S. consumer pays…

For the first time since last December, the CPI is above it's level from twelve months earlier.  The latest CPI estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show an increase of 0.3% in June, and 0.1% over the year.  The graph below shows 12-month CPI changes since 2006.     You might recall that the…

Last week, the BLS released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for December 2014. Overall, the CPI dropped 0.4 percent in December, largely driven by the 9.4% drop in gasoline prices. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices was flat during December. The graph below shows one year growth rates in the seasonally adjusted CPI…

Gasoline prices dropped another 6.6% in November, bringing the year-over-year decline to 10.5 percent.  And since the average U.S. consumer spends almost five percent of their budget on gasoline alone, the price drop helped pull the overall consumer price index (CPI) down by 0.3% in November.    In the past year, inflation, as measured by…

Inflation seems to be firmly in check, according to the October CPI News Release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Overall, the CPI was flat in October and up just 1.7% in the past year.  Even though the overall price level has been relatively stable over the past year, there have been several wild swings…

The overall consumer price index increased by 1.7% over the 12 months ending in September.  For September only, prices rose by just 0.1 percent. Interestingly, the same increases are true when food and energy price changes are excluded from the calculation.     But even though overall prices rose by 1.7% over the past year,…