Consumer Price Index Declines for First Time in Six Months
The consumer price index declined 0.1% in October, the first decline in six months, the Labor Department said Nov. 20.
The decline in the government’s main inflation gauge followed a 0.2% increase in September, Labor said.
The core CPI rate, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.1%.
Economists had forecast no change, Bloomberg News reported.
Consumer prices increased 1% in the 12 months ended in October, after a 1.2% year-over-year gain the prior month, Bloomberg reported.
Nearly 60% of the CPI covers prices consumers pay for services. Climbing consumer prices could reflect an increase in demand for consumer goods, which increases demand for trucking services.
Retail sales increased 0.4% in October, according to a separate report from the Commerce Department.
The rise followed no change in September. Economists had forecast a 0.1% rise, Bloomberg reported.
Nine of 13 major categories showed gains, led by automobile dealers.
“Maybe the rhetoric was just a little bit overblown in terms of the magnitude of the economic impact behind the partial government shutdown,” said Michael Brown, economist with Wells Fargo Securities told Bloomberg.
“As we get ready to go into the holiday shopping season, this is welcome news,” he said.
Almost all trucking operations depend on the health of retail sales because such sales involve nearly every type of cargo.
