U.S. Consumer Prices Rose 0.4% in November
December 13 2017 - 9:00AM
Dow Jones News
By Sarah Chaney and Josh Mitchell
WASHINGTON--U.S. consumer prices rose in November, propelled by
a rise in energy prices, while underlying inflation pressures
showed signs of moderation.
The consumer-price index, which measures what Americans pay for
everything from breakfast cereal to doctors' visits, increased 0.4%
in November from the prior month, the Labor Department said
Wednesday. The headline rise was underpinned by a 3.9% increase in
the energy index. Excluding the volatile categories of food and
energy, so-called core prices rose a more sluggish 0.1%, a slowdown
from the previous month's 0.2% increase.
Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected
overall prices to rise 0.4% in November and core prices to rise
0.2% on the month.
From a year earlier, consumer prices climbed 2.2% in November.
Prices were up 1.7% on the year when excluding food and energy.
Certain categories that had shown weakness earlier in the year,
including cell phone services and prescription drugs, increased in
November. Still, shelter prices moderated, growing 0.2% from a
month earlier, down from a 0.3% rise in the previous two months.
Food prices were unchanged in November, and the apparel index fell
1.3% in November, the largest decrease since September 1998.
The report is the Federal Reserve's last peek at a major
inflation gauge before the central bank's two-day policy meeting
concludes Wednesday afternoon. Central bank officials are likely to
look through the uncertain inflation outlook and raise interest
rates by a quarter-percentage point, the fifth such increase since
the Fed began raising rates from near zero two years ago.
The consumer-price index tends to run a little bit higher than
the Fed's preferred measure of inflation, the personal-consumption
index, reflecting different methods for calculating inflation. Both
gauges have followed the same pattern.
The price index for personal-consumption expenditures rose 1.6%
in October from a year earlier, the Commerce Department earlier
said. That annual inflation reading has remained below the Fed's 2%
target for the best part of 5 ½ years.
Persistently low inflation readings could complicate officials'
decisions on how quickly to raise interest rates in 2018 and
beyond.
Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said in a speech in London
last month that price growth has been too lackluster.
"I'm concerned something more persistent is holding down
inflation today. Namely, I feel we are facing below-target
inflation expectations," Mr. Evans said.
A separate Labor Department report showed average weekly
earnings for private-sector workers, adjusted for inflation,
increased 0.1% in November from the prior month.
The Labor Department's latest report on the consumer-price index
can be accessed at:
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm
Write to Sarah Chaney at sarah.chaney@wsj.com and Josh Mitchell
at joshua.mitchell@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 13, 2017 08:45 ET (13:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.