US Consumer Prices Unchanged in November

Consumer prices did not change in November from the previous month, the Labor Department reported Dec. 17.

The consumer price index, a key measure of inflation, had decreased 0.1% in October from the month before, Labor said. Year-over-year, CPI increased 1.2% in November.

Bloomberg News attributed the flat monthly index to falling fuel prices. The core CPI, which excludes fuel and food, increase 0.2%

“Core inflation is still running too low,” Laura Rosner, a U.S. economist at BNP Paribas, told Bloomberg. “We probably have further weakness to see as retailers adjust prices to reduce the stockpiles that we know boosted growth.”

On average, economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicted a 0.1% increase in both overall CPI and the core index.