October Import Prices Showing Some Inflation
ThinkstockImport prices rose for the third month in a row in the month of October. The U.S. Labor Department reported a 0.5% gain month over month when you compare the gains to September, despite some ongoing pressure in oil. Dow…
Import prices rose for the third month in a row in the month of October. The U.S. Labor Department reported a 0.5% gain month over month when you compare the gains to September, despite some ongoing pressure in oil. Dow Jones was calling for October import prices to be flat and Bloomberg was looking for a gain of only 0.1% in October.
As far as how this compares, the gain in September was 1.1% and the gain in August was 1.2%. While this is higher than expected, at least the trajectory is lower and that may keep the inflation hawks a bit subdued. What is interesting is that prices on goods from China actually were down by about 0.3%, but goods from Europe were up by 0.6%.
While oil prices are still low, the ex-energy import prices were up by 0.3%, and that was the biggest gain in at least six months. Food prices were up by 0.2%, auto import prices were up 0.3% and consumer goods on an ex-autos basis were up by 0.2%.
China has a virtual currency peg and prices were down, while Europe is in the midst of disaster and prices were up. Sometimes these numbers just seem counterintuitive.
JON C. OGG
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Jon Ogg has been a financial news analyst since 1997. Mr. Ogg set up one of the first audio squawk box services for traders called TTN, which he sold in 2003. He has previously worked as a licensed broker to some of the top U.S. and E.U. financial institutions, managed capital, and has raised private capital at the seed and venture stage. He has lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as New York and Chicago, and he now lives in Houston, Texas. Jon received a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance at University of Houston in 1992. www.247wallst.com.
