The Labor Department said its consumer price index slipped 0.1% last month, the first decline since January, after edging up 0.1% in July.
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But so-called core inflation, excluding the volatile effects of energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, also fell – from 1.2% in July to 1% in August.
As regards CPI inflation, a slower rate of price rise in fruit and vegetables and protein items, except for pulses, pulled the inflation to a new low of 3.66 % in August, as against 3.69 % in July.
CPI inflation has been nearly flat for the past seven months.
The figure for August remained the same as in the previous month when rounded to decimal places.
Last month, <strong>Fedstrong> vice chairman Stanley Fischer indicated that there is good reason to believe that inflation will move higher as the temporary forces restraining it from a stronger dollar and falling energy <strong>pricesstrong> continue to “dissipate further”. “Other factors that have a role to play in determining local food prices – such as global prices and government stockpiles – should help keep inflation anchored”.
Food prices climbed 0.2 percent for a second month.
The Guardian reported, “The average house price rose by more than £1,000 a week, leaping from £277,000 to £282,000, a new all-time high and 16.7 per cent above the pre-financial crisis peak in 2007″.
Investors are focused on a Fed monetary policy meeting that begins Wednesday morning in Washington, at which officials will decide whether or not to raise interest rates for the first time in nine years.
Energy prices declined 2% in August. Analysts expected monthly CPI to remain unchanged from its July level.
The cost of airline tickets, however, sank for the second straight month as some of the savings in fuel have translated into lower prices. That increase was due to a rise in hourly earnings, which – adjusted for inflation – rose half a percent. The ONS says that diesel prices fell by 6.2 pence per litre this year compared with a fall of 2.1 pence per litre a year ago, while petrol prices fell by 2.4 pence per litre compared with a fall of 1.8 pence per litre last year.
“Nevertheless, the current period of stable prices is providing a boost to consumer spending power, and supporting the growth of the economy“. Egg prices rose 8 percent in August alone.
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Analysis and data collection for the Zions Bank CPI and the Zions Bank Consumer Attitude Index are provided by the Cicero Group.
