Tag Archives: inflation
Higher Fuel Prices Boost Import/Export Prices
Import prices jumped 0.6% in January after dropping sharply during the last two months of 2012. A large jump in fuel prices accounted for much of that gain. Non-fuel import prices edged up a much-more-modest 0.2% after declining during the previous two months. Vehicle prices were up, as promotions to boost end-of-year sales were rolled [...]
Housing Starts Drop on Sandy Disruptions
Housing starts fell to an 861,000 unit annualized pace in November, as the effects of the two storms that hit the East Coast – Sandy and the Nor’easter – continued to disrupt construction activity. Many construction projects were temporarily sidelined because workers were initially focused on cleanup efforts and restoring electricity. Almost all of the [...]
CPI Moderate on Energy Prices
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell 0.3% in response to falling energy prices. Gasoline prices dropped 7.4% in November, despite shortages on the East Coast in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. Again, the government and state agencies report that it is difficult to see effects associated with Sandy. It is notable, however, that emergency authorities [...]
Chicago’s Evans Rules the December Fed Meeting
As we expected, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) continued its open-ended commitment to purchase new, mortgage-backed securities at $40 billion per month and initially replace “Operation “Twist” with a program to purchase long-term bonds at a pace of $45 billion per month. In addition, the Federal Reserve will continue to replace any maturing, mortgage-backed [...]
Rents Push Consumer Price Index Higher
Consumer prices edged up 0.1% in October, with shelter (rents) rising at the fastest pace since March 2008. Airfares also surged but have fallen a bit in the wake of Sandy as air carriers scrambled to recoup business lost during the devastating storm. Vehicle and energy prices dropped, a trend that should continue and help [...]
Retail Sales and Pricing Pressures Slacken in October
Retail sales dipped 0.3% in October, reflecting some giveback to strong gains in September and a few losses associated with Hurricane Sandy. Vehicle sales were among the hardest-hit by that storm, as East Coast consumers (who are a significant portion of sales because New York and New Jersey account for more than 12% of all [...]
Employment Costs Edge Lower
The employment cost index edged slightly lower to 0.4% in the third quarter. All of the downward movement occurred in wages and salaries, which slowed to a 0.3% pace in the third quarter. Benefit costs, however, picked up at a 0.8% pace. This is still substantially lower compared to the pre-recession period in 2007 and [...]
CPI Continues to Rise on Energy Prices
The consumer price index (CPI) rose another 0.6% in September, matching the increase we saw in August. The overwhelming majority of gains were concentrated in energy; gasoline prices jumped 6.7% after an 8.6% increase the month prior. Food prices remained tame, despite the upward pressure exerted by the drought.
PPI Jumps on Energy Costs: Other Prices Tepid
The Producer Price Index (PPI) jumped 1.1% in October almost entirely because of an increase in energy prices. Gasoline prices jumped 9.8%; that is bad news for the holiday season, which opens with Halloween in just a few weeks. It is important to note that increases in gasoline prices were extremely uneven across the country. [...]
Retail Sales and CPI Rise on Energy Prices
Retail sales increased 0.9% on a sharp increase in gasoline and vehicle sales (up 5.5% and 1.3%, respectively). Retail sales excluding vehicle and gasoline station sales rose a much more tepid 0.1% pace for the month. The weakest sector was electronics, which shouldn’t be a surprise; we have seen few gains in this category, with [...]
Bloomberg asks Diane Swonk to explain Fed concern over unemployment
RSS Feeds