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CONSUMER PRICE INDEX DECEMBER 2024

Writer's picture: Michael ThervilMichael Thervil

Written by Michael Thervil

 


The good news is that the Consumer Price Index rose to 0.4% in the month of December. This 0.4% fell in line with the expectations of market analysts. When we look at the general overall number of the CPI chart, we can easily see that in the case of “All Items” it rose to 2.9%. In terms of “Food”, it rose 20.5%. The “Energy” sector fell by -0.5%, which means that either Americans and private businesses had either cut back on energy use during the Christmas holiday, or they simply didn’t have the monetary means  to afford high energy consumption. When it came to “All Items Less Food and Energy” it rose to 3.2% this is something to consider when you drill into the chart to “Transportation Service” which rose a whopping 7.3%; this was most likely due to annual Christmas travel which was to be expected during the month of December 2024.

 

Within the “Food” sector it was published that “Food At Home” rose to 1.8% while “Food Away From Home” hoovered with little sign of change at 3.6% which is roughly the same as November of 2023. When you look at “Food At Home”, it was reported that “Meats, Poultry, Fish And Eggs” ranked highest amongst consumers. The lowest performing categories that stood at a tie within the “Food At Home” category were “Cereals And Bakery Products” (0.8%) and “Other Food At Home” (0.8%). Looking at “Food Away From Home”, it was reported that “Full-Service Meals And Snacks” (3.6%) and “Limited Meals And Snacks” (3.7%) increased to roughly the same degree respectively.

 

Looking at the “Energy” sector; “Energy Commodities” were way down at -3.9% while “Energy Services” claimed to be 3.3%. Drilling down into “Energy Commodities”; “Fuel Oil” plunged down to -13.1% while “Gasoline (All Types)” dipped to -3.4%. One possible reason for the drop in both of these sectors could be attributed to the increased production and use of Chinese EV’s (Electric Vehicles) in non-opec producing countries. When exploring the “Energy Services” tab within the CPI chart, it was reported that electricity demand rose 2.8% with “Natural Gas (Piped”) significantly rising to 4.9%. This is to be expected during the colder months of the year.

 

Going back to “All Items Less Food and Energy”, the “Commodities Less Food and Energy” sector dipped to -.05%. On the other hand, “Services Less Energy Service” spiked to 4.4%.  It is our position that the spike in “Services Less Energy Service” was due to wage increases that were used to compensate and offset the monetary inflationary rise in America. This rise in monetary inflation was most seen in the Motor Vehicle Insurance sector. The next Consumer Price Index report is due to be released on February 12, at 8:30 ET.

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