US Inflation marched along slowly in October 2010 as Americans paid less for cars, trucks, clothing, tobacco, and natural gas, according to the latest consumer prices data released by the government on Wednesday.

Prices did rise modestly in October, however, thanks in large part to higher energy costs. But excluding those costs, the annual core US inflation rate increased by the smallest level since the government started tracking the data.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), the most closely watched indicator of US inflation, edged up 0.2 percent in October after an increase of 0.1 percent in September, the Labor Department said. Continue reading US Inflation Remains Tame, October 2010 Consumer Prices Rise 0.2% →

U.S. inflation slowed more than expected in September as consumer prices eased from their prior monthly level, government data showed Friday. The core annual inflation rate declined to the lowest point in nearly five decades, raising worries of deflation and supporting expectations for another round of quantitative easing by the Fed.

The Consumer Price Index, the most closely watched indicator of inflation, rose 0.1 percent in September after a pick up of 0.3 percent in August, the Labor Department said. Leading gains were energy and food costs, with the latter jumping 0.3 percent to mark its biggest increase since October 2008. Energy prices rose 0.7 percent, which was down from the 2.3 percent increase in August. Continue reading Core US Inflation Slowest in Decades, September 2010 Consumer Prices Rise 0.1% →

The cost of living in the U.S. rose in August for a second month in a row as energy and food prices continued to climb, the government reported Friday. The 12-month inflation rate rose as well, but the annual core number remained below preferred Fed levels which keeps conversations of deflation circling.

The Consumer Price Index rose 0.3 percent in August, matching the July increase after a dip of 0.1 percent in June, data from the Labor Department showed.

Leading August increases was a 2.3 percent rise in energy prices, with gasoline costs at the top. Continue reading US Inflation Rate at 1.1%, August 2010 Consumer Prices Advance 0.3% →

U.S. consumers prices increased in July, lifted by energy costs, to mark the largest gain since August 2009 and the first monthly increase since March 2010, the government reported Friday. Inflation also rose on a yearly basis, driven by the same higher energy prices.

The cost of energy rose for the first time this year and drove the Consumer Price Index 0.3 percent higher in July.

The energy index posted its first increase since January and accounted for over two thirds of the seasonally adjusted all items increase," noted the Labor Department’s CPI July report. "Both the gasoline and household energy indexes turned up in July after a series of declines. The food index, in contrast, declined in July, largely due to the fourth consecutive decline in the fruits and vegetables index."

Continue reading July 2010 Consumer Prices Rise 0.3%, Annual US Inflation Rate at 1.2% →

U.S. consumers paid less for goods and services in June, thanks in large part to flat food prices and lower gasoline bills, the government reported Friday.

The Consumer Price Index dropped 0.1% in June, marking the third straight monthly decline since March when prices edged 0.1% higher, according to Labor Department data. The index is the most closely watched indicator for inflation. The decline follows a 0.2% slide in May and a 0.1% dip in April. The last time consumer prices fell for three consecutive months was between October and December 2008.

Sliding energy prices were the biggest contributor, down 2.9% in June, the same decline as in May. Gasoline prices plunged 4.5% to account for "most of the decrease," the Labor Department said. Continue reading US Consumer Prices Dip 0.1% in June 2010, Annual Inflation at 1.1% →

The cost of living in the U.S. declined in May for the second month in a row as energy prices retreated, the government reported Thursday.

The Consumer Price Index, the most closely watched indicator for inflation, fell 0.2% in May after edging 0.1 lower in April, the Labor Department said. Flat food costs and lower energy bills led by plunging gasoline prices aided in trimming U.S. consumer prices.

"The weak recovery has its upside, declining energy costs and that is helping take pressure off the cash-strapped consumer," Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors, was quoted by the AP.

Core consumer prices, which exclude volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.1% in May, marking only the second monthly increase this year. The core inflation rate was unchanged in April and March, rose 0.1% in February, and declined 0.1% in January. Continue reading Consumer Prices Drop 0.2% in May, Annual Inflation Up 2.0% →

U.S. consumer prices surprisingly fell in April as core inflation over the past 12 months climbed at the slowest rate in 44 years, the Labor Department reported today.

"We do not have any inflation pressure," Ward McCarthy, chief financial economist at Jefferies & Co. in New York, said today in an interview on Bloomberg Radio. "On the international level, there is tremendous price competition."

The Consumer Price Index, the government’s most closely watched indicator for inflation, edged 0.1% lower in April. The index was helped by mostly subdued energy costs. It was the first decline in the CPI since March 2009, and two notches away from a 0.1% increase most economists were expecting, which was the same level reported in March.

Energy costs dropped 1.4% last month, with gasoline prices leading the declines at minus 2.4%. Food prices were up 0.2%. Continue reading U.S. Inflation Rises 2.2% for the Year, Consumer Prices Fall 0.1% in April →