Consumer Price Index for May: Nudges Up
Stats Canada published their May 2009 numbers today and it is up but only 0.1% over the previous twelve months, which is good to see (for those of us who worry about inflation). This means that prices are supposedly only up 1/10 of 1% over the previous twelve months (as close as you can get to ZERO (without being zero)).
The number is a little deceiving since the report does say:
The slowdown in the 12-month Consumer Price Index (CPI) was primarily the result of an 18.3% year-over-year price drop for energy products. Excluding energy, the CPI rose 2.3%.
Thus without the drop in gas and energy prices CPI is actually around 2.3% which sounds more realistic. With the spiking of gas and oil prices for the summer this could make for more interesting numbers in the coming months, unfortunately.
1/10 of 1% Inflation? Wow!
Gas Prices Down (for Now)
The following graph is even more interesting and shows just how volatile gas prices have been for the past little while:
Volatile to say the least!
The Big Price Picture
So how did all of this break down? Energy prices down a great deal, however, food prices are UP a large amount as well, so we have two volatile components in the index, whereas most other components are quite calm.
This does not bode well for those on fixed incomes having to deal with higher food prices (as well as those that are living near the poverty line).
As usual I am including the “big table” to show you the components of the CPI and where the biggest jumps are:
| Relative importance | May 2008 | May 2009 | April 2008 to April 2009 | May 2008 to May 2009 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unadjusted | |||||
| % change | |||||
| All-items | 100.00 | 114.6 | 114.7 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
| Food | 17.04 | 114.6 | 121.9 | 7.1 | 6.4 |
| Shelter | 26.62 | 121.6 | 121.4 | 0.2 | -0.2 |
| Household operations and furnishings | 11.10 | 104.3 | 107.6 | 2.8 | 3.2 |
| Clothing and footwear | 5.36 | 93.0 | 93.9 | 0.8 | 1.0 |
| Transportation | 19.88 | 123.6 | 113.5 | -8.0 | -8.2 |
| Health and personal care | 4.73 | 108.6 | 112.1 | 2.6 | 3.2 |
| Recreation, education and reading | 12.20 | 102.9 | 103.8 | 0.8 | 0.9 |
| Alcoholic beverages and tobacco products | 3.07 | 127.4 | 131.2 | 2.4 | 3.0 |
| All-items (1992=100) | 136.4 | 136.6 | 0.3 | 0.1 | |
| Special aggregates | |||||
| Goods | 48.78 | 110.4 | 108.1 | -2.0 | -2.1 |
| Services | 51.22 | 118.7 | 121.3 | 2.5 | 2.2 |
| All-items excluding food and energy | 73.57 | 110.3 | 111.7 | 1.2 | 1.3 |
| Energy | 9.38 | 158.4 | 129.4 | -17.5 | -18.3 |
| Core CPI | 82.71 | 111.5 | 113.7 | 1.8 | 2.0 |
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June 19th, 2009 at 1:11 AM
[...] when he started saying he might not get his sweetheart pension, I think he lost all credibility. With the CPI at 0.1% we are in interesting areas where allegedly our prices are not rising, yet the price of food is up [...]