U.S. inflation flattened in November, according to a U.S. Labor Department report released Tuesday, December 15, 2015.
Cost increases in areas like shelter, healthcare and transportation were offset by reductions in energy and food prices, the report shows.
In November, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was unchanged after moving up 0.2% in October. The CPI before then declined for three straight months.
"Lower energy prices and strong-dollar pressure will continue to be disinflationary forces," said Millan Mulraine, deputy head of U.S. research and strategy at TD Securities LLC. "Inflation will take some time to get back to the Fed’s desired level but it’s moving in the right direction."
In a key month-over-month reading, energy prices last month fell 1.3% compared to their previous 0.3% increase. Within the category, gasoline prices dropped 2.4% after climbing 0.4% in October. Compared to a year earlier, energy prices are 14.7% lower and gasoline prices are 24.1% lower.
Food prices slipped 0.1%, their first decline in eight months. They advanced 0.1% in October and they are 1.3% higher than a year ago.
Stripping food and energy, the so-called core consumer prices rose 0.2% for the third straight month.
Annual Changes
In the longer haul, inflation picked up 0.5% in the 12 months ended in November for the biggest increase of the year, falling directly behind the 0.8% gain through the 12 months ending December 2014. The annual rate for the previous period through October logged in at 0.2%.
Core inflation over the past year increased 2.0%, which is the highest since May 2014. It follows two consecutive 1.9% advances.
Below are the most-watched consumer prices by category as well as their month-over-month and annual changes. For the full Bureau of Labor Statistics summary report for October, visit http://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/cpi_12152015.htm.
Table of US Inflation / Consumer Prices (%)
| May 2015 | June 2015 | July 2015 | August 2015 | September 2015 | October 2015 | November 2015 | 12 Month | |
| All items | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | -0.1 | -0.2 | 0.2 | .0 | 0.5 |
| Food | .0 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.1 | -0.1 | 1.3 |
| Food at home | -0.2 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | -0.3 | 0.3 |
| Food away from home | 0.2 | 0.2 | .0 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 2.7 |
| Energy | 4.3 | 1.7 | 0.1 | -2.0 | -4.7 | 0.3 | -1.3 | -14.7 |
| Energy commodities | 9.6 | 3.1 | 0.7 | -4.1 | -8.6 | 0.4 | -2.4 | -24.2 |
| Gasoline (all types) | 10.4 | 3.4 | 0.9 | -4.1 | -9.0 | 0.4 | -2.4 | -24.1 |
| Fuel oil | 0.7 | -1.9 | -3.4 | -8.1 | -2.4 | -1.1 | -1.3 | -31.4 |
| Energy services | -1.0 | 0.2 | -0.6 | 0.5 | -0.4 | 0.2 | -0.1 | -2.8 |
| Electricity | -1.2 | 0.2 | -0.4 | 0.3 | -0.5 | 0.4 | 0.3 | -0.2 |
| Utility (piped) gas service | .0 | 0.3 | -1.4 | 1.3 | -0.3 | -0.7 | -1.9 | -11.7 |
| All items less food, energy | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 2.0 |
| Commodities less food, energy | -0.1 | -0.1 | -0.1 | -0.1 | .0 | -0.1 | -0.2 | -0.6 |
| New vehicles | 0.2 | 0.1 | -0.2 | .0 | -0.1 | -0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Used cars and trucks | -0.4 | -0.4 | -0.6 | -0.4 | -0.2 | -0.3 | -0.1 | -0.6 |
| Apparel | -0.5 | -0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | -0.3 | -0.8 | -0.3 | -1.5 |
| Medical care | 0.4 | .0 | 0.1 | 0.3 | -0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 2.5 |
| Services less energy | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 2.9 |
| Shelter | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 3.2 |
| Transportation | 0.7 | 0.4 | -0.2 | -0.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 2.3 |
| Medical care | 0.2 | -0.2 | 0.1 | .0 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 3.1 |
The Consumer Price Index report for December has a scheduled release date of January 20, 2016 at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).