Consumer Price Index

Consumer prices barely budged in October, the Labor Department reported Wednesday, offering more proof that inflation remains largely in check despite signs of consistently strong economic growth. The consumer price index rose just 0.1% last month, following September's 0.2% advance. In the greater Los Angeles area, consumer prices rose 0.5% in October but are up just 1% for the year through October, the Labor Department said.

The government published fresh statistics Wednesday confirming that the economic recovery is proceeding and that the inflation picture is improving. The Labor Department's monthly consumer price index edged up by 0.2% in June, after an increase of 0.3% in May, the agency reported. It was the fifth consecutive month that inflation at the retail level has remained moderate. Meanwhile, the Commerce Department reported that housing starts, a key barometer of future economic activity, soared 5.

Cheaper energy helped pull overall consumer prices down steeply in September and new-home building unexpectedly rebounded, implying a still-resilient economy. The promising government economic data Wednesday bolstered investors' hopes for stronger corporate profits and convinced analysts that the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates on hold as it gauges the effect of cheaper energy on inflation expectations. The Labor Department said overall U.S. consumer prices dropped 0.

The bond market's biggest demon--inflation--may be exorcised by a new type of government bond being considered in Washington. A House subcommittee is preparing a proposal for the Treasury Department that suggests splitting government bond issues into two categories. One would be the standard bond now used to borrow money from the public to pay for government operations.

After seeming all but banished, inflation made an unexpected comeback last month, driving consumer prices to their biggest one-month gain since the beginning of the 1990s and leaving a lot of people wondering how much longer the era of easy economic growth can continue. Almost half of the unexpectedly sharp 0.

Prices for consumers rose a scant 1.7% in 1997--the lowest inflation rate in 11 years--and economists are saying the Asian financial crisis could further slow the growth in prices this year. Because the dollar is gaining in value compared with many Asian currencies, such items as imported cars, computers, toys and clothing will be relative bargains in coming months, experts believe.

A sharp drop in gasoline prices took the sting out of inflation last month, the government reported Tuesday, but analysts said volatile energy costs still posed an economic threat. The Labor Department said its consumer price index fell 0.1% in July, the first decline since November. July's dip followed increases of 0.6% in May and 0.3% in June, fueled largely by rising pump prices. Although economists expected price pressures to ease last month, the outright decline took most by surprise.

The economy in September had the best of both worlds--moderate growth and low inflation--according to government reports Friday that showed consumer prices and retail sales inching ahead at a moderate pace. The Labor Department reported the consumer price index rose 0.1% in September, the same benign rate as in August. The Commerce Department said retail sales inched up 0.3%, after a moderate 0.5% climb in August, showing consumer spending is moving ahead at a moderate pace.

Inflation fears sent financial markets on a rampage Thursday, pummeling bonds and stocks and turning gold into everybody's favored investment. The dollar marched to its own drum, rising on renewed turmoil among European currencies. Analysts said the markets were unnerved by the Labor Department's report that the consumer price index had risen 0.4% in April, about double the increase that analysts had expected and the largest increase in three months.

Inflation in China moderated in September, but it remained stubbornly high amid growing signs of a global slowdown. China's consumer price index, the main gauge of inflation, was up 6.1% from a year earlier, down slightly from a 6.2% rise in August. Still, the index remains far above the 4% annual target set by the central government. That will make it difficult for China's central bank to loosen monetary policy to stimulate the nation's economy. There's already evidence that the world's factory floor is feeling the fallout from struggling economies in the West.