Wholesale Prices in U.S. Fell for Third Month in November

[Purveyor]

By Michelle Jamrisko - Dec 13, 2013

Wholesale prices in the U.S. declined for a third month in November, reflecting lower costs for energy and cars.

The 0.1 percent drop in the producer-price index followed a 0.2 percent decrease the prior month, a Labor Department report showed today in Washington. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 77 economists called for no change. The so-called core measure, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.1 percent.

Prices of goods and materials used in the earlier stages of production fell for a second month as slow improvement in global markets limited demand. Scant signs of accelerating inflation indicate Federal Reserve policy makers meeting next week have more room to maintain their unprecedented $85 billion in monthly asset purchases in order to help spur the expansion.

“Inflation remains quite tame,” said Jim O’Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics Ltd. in Valhalla, New York, who correctly projected the drop in prices. “Over the course of the next year, the core numbers will drift up a little bit as the economy remains healthy and unemployment keeps falling.”

Estimates for the change in wholesale prices in the Bloomberg survey ranged from a drop of 0.3 percent to a gain of 0.5 percent.

more...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-13/wholesale-prices-in-u-s-declined-for-third-month-in-november.html

[Egalitarian Thug]

1. Where do they find these idiots?

Meteorologists, politicians, and economists. The only three professions I know where the practitioner can be wrong most of the time and still keep getting a paycheck.