EmailEconomic
Last Update: 16-Apr-13 08:57 ET
CPI
Highlights
- Consumer prices fell 0.2% in March after increasing 0.7% in February. The Briefing.com consensus expected prices to decrease 0.1%.
- Excluding food and energy, core prices increased 0.1% after rising 0.2% in February. The Briefing.com consensus expected core prices to increase by 0.2% for a second consecutive month.
Key Factors
- The March CPI report read very similarly to last week’s March PPI report.
- Energy costs fell 2.6% in March after increasing 5.4% in February. The decline was the result of a 4.4% drop in gasoline prices.
- Food costs were flat after increasing 0.1% in February.
- Prices of apparel declined 1.0%, its largest fall since April 2001. Other than the apparel decline, there was nothing unusual in the core data. Price growth will likely remain near its current level for the next several months.
Big Picture
- Inflationary pressures will remain tame until income growth accelerates from its current pace.
| Category | MAR | FEB | JAN | DEC | NOV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Items | -0.2% | 0.7% | 0.0% | 0.0% | -0.2% |
| Food and Beverages | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Housing | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Equivalent Rent | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Apparel | -1.0% | -0.1% | 0.8% | 0.1% | -0.5% |
| Transportation | -1.3% | 3.0% | -0.9% | -0.4% | -2.1% |
| Vehicles | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| Motor Fuel | -4.4% | 9.1% | -3.0% | -1.9% | -6.0% |
| Medical Care | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| Educ and Commun | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Special Indices | |||||
| Core | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Energy | -2.6% | 5.4% | -1.7% | -0.8% | -3.4% |
| Services | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
