New federal data show price drops in 71 goods and services in January and 47 items over the past year, while core inflation posts its lowest annual rate since early 2021.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A wide range of consumer prices declined in January, contributing to a moderation in inflation as core consumer prices rose 2.5 percent compared with a year earlier—the lowest annual core inflation rate since March 2021.
According to figures reported by Breitbart News, 71 goods and services fell in price in January compared with December, based on seasonally adjusted data. Goods prices overall declined 0.1 percent month over month and are up just 1 percent over the past 12 months. Excluding food, goods prices are down over the year following a nearly half-percentage-point drop in January.
Among the largest January declines were tax return preparation and other accounting fees, down 13.8 percent; eggs, down 7.0 percent; fuel oil, down 5.7 percent; pork chops, down 4.1 percent; and other motor fuels, down 3.6 percent. Gasoline prices also fell across grades, with unleaded regular down 3.4 percent, midgrade down 2.6 percent and premium down 2.1 percent.
Food items posted multiple declines. Lettuce fell 2.8 percent; oranges, including tangerines, dropped 2.6 percent; uncooked beef steaks declined 2.2 percent; peanut butter fell 2.2 percent; butter dropped 2.1 percent; tomatoes declined 1.9 percent; apples fell 1.8 percent; and fresh vegetables overall were down 0.7 percent. Other fresh fruits fell 1.6 percent, and fresh fruits overall declined 1.1 percent.
Energy-related categories also posted decreases, including propane, kerosene and firewood (down 1.5 percent), fuel oil and other fuels (down 1.5 percent), and other household fuels (down 0.5 percent).
Several consumer goods saw lower prices in January, including used cars and trucks (down 1.8 percent), televisions (down 1.8 percent), major appliances (down 0.7 percent), sporting goods (down 0.7 percent), video discs and other media (down 0.6 percent), and other household equipment and furnishings (down 0.6 percent).
Apparel categories recorded declines as well. Men’s suits, sport coats and outerwear fell 3.3 percent; men’s pants and shorts declined 2.4 percent; women’s outerwear dropped 0.9 percent; men’s footwear fell 0.6 percent; and infant and toddler apparel declined 0.6 percent.
Services also contributed to the monthly declines. Health insurance fell 1.2 percent; car and truck rental declined 1.2 percent; lodging away from home, including hotels and motels, dropped 1.2 percent; eyeglasses and eye care fell 1.0 percent; and other intercity transportation declined 0.9 percent.
Year-over-year comparisons show 47 goods and services priced lower than a year ago. Eggs recorded the largest annual drop at 34.2 percent. Moving, storage and freight expenses fell 15.9 percent; smartphones declined 10.6 percent; unleaded regular gasoline dropped 8.0 percent; propane, kerosene and firewood fell 7.9 percent; and ship fares declined 7.0 percent.
Additional annual declines included admission to sporting events (down 6.3 percent), men’s suits and outerwear (down 6.3 percent), butter (down 5.0 percent), televisions (down 4.8 percent), wireless telephone services (down 4.3 percent), fuel oil (down 4.2 percent), used cars and trucks (down 2.0 percent), sporting goods (down 2.3 percent), health insurance (down 2.2 percent), financial services (down 1.6 percent), and infants’ and toddlers’ apparel (down 1.1 percent).
Other categories posting annual price declines included toys, tomatoes, potatoes, newspapers and magazines, video discs and other media, tax return preparation fees, frozen and freeze-dried prepared foods, dairy products, postage, watches and rice.
The data reflect easing price pressures across multiple sectors of the consumer economy, from groceries and energy to apparel, services and durable goods. While some categories continue to show increases, January’s figures indicate that a broad range of items became less expensive both month over month and compared with the same period last year.
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