The U.S. consumer inflation rate increased in November on the back of higher fuel costs and, to a lesser degree, higher “shelter” costs. Consumer price index (CPI) figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated consumer prices rose by 0.4% in November, ahead of market expectations of 0.3%. On a 12-month basis the consumer inflation rate rebounded from October’s 2.0% to 2.2%.
Core prices, or prices excluding food and energy, rose by 0.1% over the month and 1.7% for the year. Both these monthly and annual price changes were lower than October’s comparable figures of 0.2% and 1.8%. ANZ senior economist Felicity Emmett said core inflation rose less than the expected 0.2% as prices in a couple of retailing segments lived up to their highly variable nature. “Core US inflation rose slightly less than expected, but this was mainly due to volatile components like airfares and apparel undershooting.”
