Americans paid less for gas last month, more for housing and airfare
By Jeffry Bartash, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Americans spent less on gasoline in November, but the rising cost of housing and pricier airfare largely offset their savings on fuel.
The consumer price index was unchanged in November on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Department said. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a 01% increase.
The price of gasoline fell again, as it usually does after the end of the summer driving season, to pull the energy index lower. Natural-gas prices also declined for the fifth time in six months, though electricity costs rose.
The cost of food, meanwhile, edged up 0.1% in November, mainly because of higher prices for dairy goods and other items typically purchased for meals at home.
Excluding food and energy, so-called core consumer prices rose 0.2%. The cost of housing, which makes up about one-third of the CPI, jumped 0.3%.
Home prices and rents have been rising over the past year as demand for homes and apartments pick up. Airline fares also rose, as did prices of used vehicles.
Medical-care costs were unchanged and the price of clothing fell.
Over the past 12 months the core rate of inflation has risen 1.7%, unchanged from October. The core rate is viewed by the Fed as a more useful gauge of underlying inflationary trends.
Overall consumer prices have climbed an even smaller 1.2% in the past 12 months.
Lower inflation, however, hasn’t helped U.S. workers all that much because of slowly increasing wages. The average hourly pay of U.S. workers, adjusted for inflation, rose 0.2% in November to $10.33. But wages are up just 0.9% over the past 12 months, down from 1.3% growth in October.
Without a faster increase in wages, analysts say, the U.S. may not be able to expand as rapidly as it used to since consumer spending is the linchpin of economic growth.
U.S. stock futures ESZ3 +0.12% were pointing to slight gains after the data was released. Read more in Indications.
