Tuesday December 16, 02:19 PM
US consumer prices plunge record 1.7% in November
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WASHINGTON (AFP) - US consumer prices plunged a record 1.7 percent in November, the second consecutive record-breaking decrease, led by plummeting energy prices as recession deepens, government data showed Tuesday.
It was the second straight month of record declines in the seasonally adjusted data consumer price index (CPI (NYSE: CPY - news) ) since 1947, when the Labor Department began recording the figures.
The November headline plunge far exceeded analysts' consensus forecast of a drop of 1.3 percent.
Core CPI, excluding energy and food prices, held unchanged from October.
The year-over-year inflation rate plunged to 1.1 percent from 3.7 percent a month earlier and the core inflation rate rose 2.0 percent after falling 0.1 percent in October.
The Labor Department noted that the November annual inflation rate compared with July's 5.6 percent, when crude oil prices hit record highs above 147 dollars a barrel.
"Falling energy prices, particularly gasoline, drove the decline in the overall index. Excluding energy, the index was virtually unchanged," the department said.
The energy index fell 17.0 percent in November, roughly twice the October decline. Energy prices are now 32.4 percent below the July peak earlier this year, it said.
The gasoline index fell 29.5 percent in November and gasoline prices are now 47.0 percent below their July peak.
The natural gas index declined for the fourth month in a row and was down 21.7 percent from July to November.
Before the October decline, the prior record was a 0.9 percent decline in July 1949.
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