March Consumer Prices Drop
Consumer prices were down in March, mostly due to a decline in the cost of gasoline, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported.
The BLS said its Consumer Price Index, the government's key inflation gauge, was down two-tenths of a percent for the month. In the past year, the index increased 1.5 percent.
The gasoline index was down 4.4 percent and the indexes for electricity and fuel oil dropped as well, pushing the energy index down 2.6 percent. It had risen 5.4 percent in February.
Food prices were relatively stable with the index for food at home declining slightly, the BLS said.
Meanwhile, the index for all items other than food and energy was up one-tenth of a percent, following an increase of two-tenths of a percent in February. It was up 1.9 percent over the past 12 months. According to the BLS, indexes for shelter, used cars and trucks, medical care, personal care, and airline fares rose in March, but were more than offset by drops in the indexes for apparel, household furnishings and operations, and tobacco.
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