The U.S. Department of Labor released August’s CPI reading as being a drop by 0.1%. Bloomberg was calling for the reading to be flat. Another black eye on the headline CPI was that July’s inflation report was revised to 0.0% from a preliminary 0.1% gain.
The core-CPI, which excludes food and energy, showed a gain of 0.1% on the monthly reading. Bloomberg was looking for a consensus of 0.2% in August. The prior month was revised upward to a gain of 0.2% from 0.1%.
Perhaps the Fed can hang its hat on the annual numbers, comparing the inflation at the consumer level to August of 2014. That annual change was up 0.2% on the headline, but the core-CPI reading was up by 1.8% on an annual basis.
Energy prices were down by 2% in August, which reflected a reading of -4.1% for gasoline. Airfares were down by 3.1%, not including fees at least. Rental inflation had been running hot in prior months, and that was up by only 0.2% in August. One area that heated up a bit was apparel, with a gain of 0.3%, a repeat of the prior report. The food index rose 0.2% in August, led by fruits and vegetables gaining by 1.5%.
Eggs continue to remain pressured due to the bird flu scare. Egg prices were up 7.7% on the monthly reading, but that is actually up 35.3% from a year ago.
Remember that the Federal Reserve really wants the inflation rate at 2.0% to 2.5%.
Top Gaining Stocks
Top Losing Stocks