The annual rate of US consumer inflation has fallen back in November after a short-lived bounce in October.
Consumer price index (CPI) figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated seasonally-adjusted consumer prices remained unchanged in November, down from October’s +0.3% but in line with consensus expectations. On a 12-month basis, the consumer inflation rate slowed to 2.2% after rebounding to 2.5% in October.
“Core” inflation, a measure of inflation which strips out the volatile food and energy components of the index, increased on a seasonally-adjusted basis by +0.2% for the month, also in line with expectations. The annual rate remained unchanged at 2.2% for a fourth consecutive month.
Westpac senior currency strategist Sean Callow said although the headline rate was above 2%, it was worth being aware “this measure consistently runs higher than the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) deflator.” US PCE inflation has been running at less than 2% on an annual basis consistently since early 2012, although it did hit the US Fed’s 2% target in July.