Consumer prices surge on record energy
Posted on: Friday, 14 October 2005, 08:03 CDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer prices shot up an unexpectedly large 1.2 percent last month, the biggest gain in more than 25 years, as hurricanes Katrina and Rita led to the biggest energy-price surge on record, a government report showed on Friday.
But outside of food and energy costs, prices were tame -- rising a scant 0.1 percent for the fifth straight month, the Labor Department said, offering some hope a broad inflation increase could be averted.
The increase in the consumer price index -- the largest since March 1980 -- outstripped Wall Street forecasts for a 0.9 percent gain, but the rise in the so-called core price index came in a touch below the 0.2 percent expected.
Energy prices shot up 12 percent, the biggest gain on records dating to 1957, as prices for gasoline, natural gas and fuel oil all skyrocketed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and its milder successor Hurricane Rita.
Gasoline prices, which hit an all-time high in the week after Katrina, jumped a record 17.9 percent in September, while natural gas and fuel oil costs each rose more than 12 percent, both the biggest gains since early 2003.
Over the past 12 months, energy costs have climbed a steep 34.8 percent, the biggest 12-month gain since the period ending May 1980. Gasoline prices are up more than 50 percent.
A separate Labor Department report on Friday underscored the degree to which the energy-fed inflation of the past year has left consumers worse off. The department said average weekly earnings adjusted for inflation have fallen 2.7 percent in the 12 months through September.
Still, the consumer price report showed little sign lofty energy costs were affecting other costs.
Food prices, which had been steady in August, climbed just 0.3 percent last month.
Hotel prices tumbled sharply and apparel prices slipped a touch after a big gain in August. However, the cost of new vehicles, medical care and communication more than offset those drops, the department said.
Source: REUTERS
Related Articles
- Oil Prices Make Gains Monday
- Vista Partners Raises Twelve Month Target Price on Avicena Group to $12.00 Per Share and Updates Coverage
- China Supplier Survey Shows 70 Percent of Mainland China Manufacturers Plan to Raise Export Prices in the Next 12 Months
- Oil Prices Extend Gains in Asian Trading
- Consenseus.Org Responds to President Bush's Speech on Gas Prices, Energy, Transportation and Alternative Fuels
- Xcel Price Increases Reflecting Cost of Natural Gas
- Crude Oil Prices Fall to Nearly Four-Month Low
- Japan Firms May Pass on Costs From High Oil Prices to Consumers
- Oil Prices Post Gains After Big Drop
- Energy, Food Costs Boost Consumer Prices
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds