Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Prices stable in November

WASHINGTON -- Another big drop in energy prices left inflation at the consumer level frozen in place during November, despite the biggest increase in the cost of new cars in more than a decade, the government said today.

The Labor Department said that its closely watched Consumer Price Index showed no increase last month after having fallen by 0.3 percent in October as America's first recession in a decade continued to hold down inflation.

So far this year, inflation at the consumer level is rising at an annual rate of just 1.9 percent, reflecting the dampening effect of a recession, with thousands of layoffs acting to hold down wage demands and various retailers slashing prices to entice consumers to keep spending during hard times.

The 1.9 percent inflation rate this year compares to inflation increases of 2.7 percent in 1999 and 3.4 percent last year, which was the highest in nine years.

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