Consumer prices slip 0.4 percent for December
The Consumer Price Index declined 0.4 percent in December on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, driven largely by the decline in gasoline prices.
It was the second straight month of sharp declines in the index, which fell 0.3 percent in November. The index is adjusted for seasonal variations.
Over the last 12 months, the bureau reported, the all items index increased 0.8 percent before seasonal adjustment.
The CPI is a key cost-of-living indicator. It measures the price level of a fixed market basket of goods and services purchased by consumers.
The bureau said gasoline and fuel oil prices fell sharply in December – 9.4 percent and 7.8 percent, respectively. That caused the energy index to post its largest one-month decline since December 2008, despite rises in the indexes for natural gas and for electricity.
The food index, in contrast, rose 0.3 percent in December, its largest increase since September.
The index for all items minus food and energy was unchanged in December, following a 0.2 percent increase in October and a 0.1 percent rise in November. This was only the second time since 2010 it did not increase, the bureau reported.
Increases in shelter and medical care prices were offset by declines in in a broad array of indexes including apparel, airline fares, used cars and trucks, household furnishings and operations, and new vehicles, the bureau reported.
The 0.8 percent increase in the all items index was notably lower than the 1.3 percent change for the 12 months ending November, the bureau said.
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