Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- The cost of living in the U.S. rose in January less
than anticipated and a measure of prices excluding food and fuel fell for the
first time since 1982, indicating the recovery is showing few signs of
inflation.
The consumer-price index increased 0.2 percent for a fifth straight month, led
by higher fuel costs, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington.
Excluding energy and food, the so-called core index unexpectedly fell 0.1
percent, reflecting a drop in new-car prices, clothing and shelter.
Companies may have little success raising prices with unemployment projected
to end the year at 9.5 percent. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell
after the report showed restrained inflation will allow Federal Reserve policy
makers to keep interest rates close to zero to help support the recovery.
“The broader picture remains one of subdued inflation, and this gives the Fed
ample reason to stay on the sidelines until at least very late in the year,”
said Aaron Smith, a senior economist at Moody’s Economy.com in West Chester,
Pennsylvania, who forecast no change in the core index.
Economists forecast the consumer-price index would rise 0.3 percent in January
from a month earlier, according to the median of 78 projections in a Bloomberg
News survey. Estimates ranged from no change to a gain of 0.6 percent.
The core index was forecast to rise 0.1 percent, according to the Bloomberg
survey. The decline in the core was the first since December 1982.
Treasuries, Stocks
Treasury prices rose, pushing down the yield on the 10-year note one basis
point to 3.79 percent at 8:42 a.m. in New York. Stock-index futures maintained
losses, with futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in March
declining 0.4 percent to 1,100.7.
Energy costs jumped 2.8 percent in January, led by higher prices for fuel oil
and gasoline. The cost of crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange
averaged $78.40 last month, up from $74.60 in December.
Gasoline prices increased 4.4 percent, the most since August. The cost at the
pump rose 10 cents to $2.71 a gallon on average in January, from $2.61 the
previous month, according to AAA. The price has since retreated.
Compared with January 2009, the CPI rose 2.6 percent after climbing 2.7
percent the previous month. The year-over-year gains in the consumer price
index have been getting bigger as crude oil prices increase from an almost
five-year low in December 2008.
Food, Shelter
Food costs, which account for about 15 percent of the CPI, increased 0.2
percent in January, reflecting higher prices for dairy products, meat and
fruits and vegetables.
Shelter costs that include lodging away from home and rental properties fell
0.5 percent. Owners-equivalent rent, one of the categories used to track rental
prices, fell 0.1 percent last month after no change.
New-car prices fell 0.5 percent in January, the most since August, and apparel
costs dropped 0.1 percent. Medical-care costs rose 0.5 percent in January, the
most in two years.
The Fed’s long-term forecast for its preferred measure of inflation, the
Commerce Department’s index tied to consumer spending and excluding food and
fuel, calls for gains in a range of 1.5 percent to 2 percent. That gauge, which
is typically lower than the CPI, was up 1.5 percent in the 12 months ended in
December.
‘Subdued Inflation’
Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said last week that the central bank expects
economic conditions, including “subdued inflation trends,” that may warrant an
“exceptionally low” benchmark interest rate “for an extended period.”
Central bank policy makers last month “agreed that underlying inflation
currently was subdued and was likely to remain so for some time,” according to
minutes of the Jan. 26- 27 meeting released this week.
Consumers in the Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary survey, released
Feb. 12, said they expect an inflation rate of 2.8 percent over the next five
years. Those figures are tracked by Fed policy makers.
The CPI is the broadest of the three monthly price gauges from the Labor
Department because it includes goods and services. Reports this week showed 1.4
percent gains in both the cost of imported goods and wholesale prices in
January. Both increases were more than anticipated.
Almost 60 percent of the CPI covers prices consumers pay for services ranging
from medical visits to airline fares and movie tickets. Airline fares fell 2.5
percent in January, the most since February 2009.
Companies Reluctant
Even with higher production and material costs, U.S. companies are reluctant
to pass on the expenses to consumers. Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer,
reported fourth-quarter sales yesterday that trailed its projection after
cutting grocery and electronic prices.
The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company reduced the cost of laptop computers,
along with turkeys and cranberry sauce for holiday meals, to attract shoppers
living paycheck to paycheck. “We see the influence of the paycheck cycle as
pronounced now as it’s been in the past,” Chief Financial Officer Tom Schoewe
said on a call with reporters.
To contact the reporters on this story: Timothy R. Homan in Washington at
thom...@bloomberg.net
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