Consumer Prices Flat in Feb.

Personal income up 0.3%, but inflation hits hard

(NEWSER) - Consumer spending rose at its fastest rate in four months in February—but that’s in large part due to rising gas prices. Consumer spending climbed 0.7%, while personal income rose 0.3% following January’s 1.2% jump, the AP notes. Both gains reflected a Social Security tax cut, which boosted take-home pay. But if energy prices keep climbing, household budgets will fall, and so will spending, economists say. More»

(NEWSER) - Consumer prices have fallen 2.1% over the past year, the biggest year-over-year decline in 59 years, the Labor Department announced today. Though the Consumer Price Index was unchanged from June to July, it was drastically lower than in July 2008, when oil peaked at $147 a barrel and gas cost $4.11 per gallon, the Washington Post reports. Economists fear dropping prices are a sign of deflation. More»

But inflation over past 12 months lowest in a half-century

(AP) - Consumer prices rose by 0.3% last month, the Labor Department said today, the biggest monthly increase since a 0.7% rise in July. Higher energy costs fueled the climb, and most economists and the government believe the recession will keep prices in check this year. That's because inflation has been flat over the past year, the lowest reading in more than a half-century. More»

Oil's record decline leads to 1% overall drop

(AP) - Consumer prices in the United States plunged by the largest amount in the past 61 years in October as gasoline prices dropped by a record amount. The Labor Department said today that consumer prices fell by 1% last month, the biggest one-month decline on records that go back to February 1947. The drop was twice as large as the 0.5% decline analysts expected. More»

But higher Europe wages drive up prices

(NEWSER) - Workers in the US are falling behind inflation while their counterparts in the 15-nation Eurozone are keeping pace, in part because of more powerful unions, the Wall Street Journal reports. But rising wages may damage the European economies, as they deter companies from hiring and in turn boost inflation. When wages are indexed to prices, an inflationary spiral is particularly hard to break, the paper observes. More»