Inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) came in at 0.4% growth, above market expectations for a 0.3% rise in prices.
I’m only reporting the overall CPI number here, as this includes both energy and food prices. The “core” CPI number excludes these items, but I believe this distorts the impact to consumers (hey, we all have to eat and most of us have to drive to get to work).
Housing Starts
Furthermore, housing starts came in slightly under expectations at 1,012 K for January vs. consensus estimates of 1,015 K. A thousand more, a thousand less - it doesn’t matter. The bottom line is that we are continuing to see a weak market for housing due to the collapse of the credit markets. Unfortunately, this will probably continue for some time.