The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released December ’18 Consumer Price Indexes (CPI) today. The all items category decreased 0.3% over the last month & had 1.9% inflation over the last year on a seasonally unadjusted basis. The All items less food and energy index was unchanged over the last month and increased 2.2% over the last year. Major appliances increased by 2.5% over the last month and by 9.1% over the last year. Laundry equipment increased by 0.4% over the last month & by 13.2% over the last year. Canned fruits & vegetables increased by 1.6% over the last month & by 3.1% over the last year. Miscellaneous household products increased by 0.8% over the last month & by 4.4% over the last year. Household paper products rose by 0.9% over the last month & by 3.8% over the last year. Floor coverings increased by 0.2% over the last month and by 4.2% over the last year.
Shown below are historical inflation rates through December ’18 for selected CPI categories (all percentages in this blog are seasonally unadjusted averages):
