CPI December Decrease, Yet Remains Persistently High
December CPI Headline Inflation fell .1% comes in at 6.5% Y.O.Y.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said December showed a decrease in headline inflation fell 0.1% month over month. That was largely in line with most economist predictions. Headline number remains hot at 6.5% year over year but lower than 7.1% in November.
Meanwhile, the Core Inflation rate striping out energy and food prices met most projections by rising 0.3%, slightly higher than 0.2% in November.
Despite the consistently high CPI, December’s slight decrease was a much needed and welcome relief for US consumers who have been dealing with 40-year highs, marking the first month that prices have fallen under the current US Administration.
The report is slightly better than the November report that showed the consumer price index increased 0.1% in November, up 7.1% from November 2021. The November figure marked a slowdown in rampant inflation, but not a reversal of the trend that has caused prices for everyday goods like food and gas to ratchet up in recent months. In November, the food index rose 0.5%, the fuel oil index rose 1.7%, and the shelter index rose 0.6%, while the used car and truck index decreased 2.9% and the energy index decreased 1.6%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.
Weekly jobless claims, also released early Thursday, fell by 1,000 to 205,000, Showing an indication that strength in the labor market is continuing.
