Consumer prices, helped by another huge decline in gasoline pump prices, fell for a second straight month in October, providing more relief to Americans battered earlier in the year by soaring energy costs.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that consumer prices dropped by 0.5 percent last month, matching the September decline. It was the first back-to-back drops in the Consumer Price Index since late last year and provided evidence that inflation pressures are beginning to ease.
Meanwhile, industrial production edged up slightly in October even though output at auto factories fell for a second straight month.
The Federal Reserve reported that industrial output rose by 0.2 percent last month following a big 0.6 percent plunge in September. However, auto production was down 3.9 percent last month as automakers continued to struggle to get control of a huge backlog of unsold cars.
In a third report, the number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits dipped by 2,000 last week to 308,000, the lowest level in a month, indicating that the labor market remains healthy in spite of the slowing economy.
The second 0.5 percent fall in consumer prices was better than the 0.3 percent dip that many analysts had been expecting. And core inflation, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, was also well-behaved, rising by just 0.1 percent, the smallest gain in eight months.
Quote: the G-man said: I'm sure the fact that the media is starting to report this good economic news from two months ago only now, after the Democrats retook Congress, is purely coincidental.
