Consumer Prices Hold Steady

Washington, DC, Nov. 18–Consumer prices were steady in October, indicating that the recent surge in economic growth isn’t fanning inflation.

The consumer-price index, the government’s most closely watched inflation barometer, was unchanged for the first time in five months, the Labor Department said Tuesday. That came as a slump in gasoline and other energy costs offset the biggest jump in beef and veal prices in 24 years.

The so-called core index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.2%.

Economists had expected a 0.1% increase in both the overall index and the core index, according to a survey by Dow Jones Newswires and CNBC.

Energy prices fell 3.9%, the biggest decline in six months. Within that category, gasoline costs skidded 6.8%.

Transportation prices fell 1.6%, the biggest decline in six months, amid the slump in gasoline costs.

Food prices, which account for 15% of the index, were up 0.6%, the biggest jump since February. Prices of beef and veal shot up 3.8%, the biggest increase since February 1979. Tight supplies have contributed to rising beef prices along with restrictions on imported beef from Canada, economists say.
Housing prices, which account for 40% of the index, climbed 0.3%, the biggest gain in five months.

In annual terms, the core increase was 1.3%, up a tenth of a percentage point from September.