WASHINGTON — The consumer price index rose by 0.4% in November, as expected, while core CPI posted a softer-than-expected 0.1% rise compared with the 0.2% gain expected, data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed.
Unrounded, the month/month rise for core CPI was +0.117%, so it was on the high side of 0.1%. Analysts' forecasts for CPI are very frequently on target, especially for core CPI, so today's data maintain that trend.
Overall, the data points to contained core consumer inflation, with the year/year rate remaining well below the 2% threshold, allowing the FOMC to maintain a very slow pace of policy tightening.
The year/year rate for overall CPI now stands at 2.2%, up from the 2.0% rate in October. For core CPI, the year/year rate slipped to 1.7% from 1.8% in October, which was the highest point since April.
Within core CPI, owners equivalent rents rose 0.2% after a 0.3% rise in the previous month, but lodging away from home fell 1.3%. Prices of new vehicles were rose 0.3% and used vehicles prices were up 1.0%, but apparel prices fell by 1.3%.
Energy prices jumped 3.9% in the month, with a 7.3% rebound in gasoline prices and a 5.0% rise in fuel oil prices. Excluding only energy prices, the November CPI would have been up only 0.1%.
Food prices were flat in November, with food at home down 0.1%, but food away from home up 0.2%.
