Consumer Price Index Falls 0.3% in First Drop Since May

The consumer price index fell 0.3% in November, the first drop since May, the Labor Department said Friday.

The decrease follows a 0.1% gain the prior month.

Economists had forecast a 0.2% drop in the government’s main inflation gauge, Bloomberg reported.

The core CPI rate, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.1%.

Almost 60% of the CPI covers prices consumers pay for services. If consumer prices are climbing, it could reflect an increase in demand for consumer goods, which increases the demand for trucking services.