Prices fall as inflation remains subdued

Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2003 | 9:23 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Consumer prices dipped by 0.2 percent in November, pulled down by cheaper gasoline, clothes and airline fares, fresh evidence that inflation isn't a problem even as the economy has shifted into a higher gear. Production at big industry surged, another report released today showed.

The Labor Department's latest reading on the Consumer Price Index, the government's most closely watched inflation barometer, comes after consumer prices were flat in October. It marked the first decline in the CPI since April, when prices dropped by 0.3 percent.

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