U.S. Median CPI Inflation Falls For 17th Straight Month – A Record Low
According to a report released Thursday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the median Consumer Price Index was virtually unchanged at 0.0% (0.5% annualized rate) in February. The “median CPI” is a measure of core inflation calculated by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland based on data in the monthly CPI report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS).
Earlier Thursday, the BLS reported that the seasonally adjusted CPI for all urban consumers was unchanged in February. The CPI less food and energy increased 0.1% in February. Over the last 12 months, median CPI inflation was 0.8% compared to CPI inflation of 2.1% (see chart above).
According to the Cleveland Fed:
Federal Reserve policymakers are always on the lookout for inflation (i.e., a general increase in prices), and they use a variety of measures to gauge inflation trends. One such measure is the Consumer Price Index (CPI) published by the BLS.
The CPI measures changes in the prices of a number of goods and services-things like gas, rent, groceries, and clothing. However, the prices of some of these items-such as food and energy-are volatile; they can change a lot from month to month, based on supply and demand. So the BLS also publishes a measure of “core” prices that excludes food and energy prices. Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and Ohio State University devised a different way to get a “core CPI” measure-or a measure of underlying inflation trends. It’s called the Median CPI.
To calculate the median CPI, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland looks at the prices of the goods and services published by the BLS. But instead of calculating a weighted average of all of the prices, as the BLS does, the Cleveland Fed looks at the median price change-or the price change that’s right in the middle of the long list of all of the price changes. According to research from the Cleveland Fed, the median CPI provides a better signal of the inflation trend than either the all-items CPI or the CPI excluding food and energy. (emphasis added)
MP: Historically, the median CPI has been 50% more accurate at gauging future inflation than the traditional CPI (based on the Cleveland Fed’s research), and the median CPI is certainly not now showing any signs of inflationary pressures.
In fact, the decrease in February’s median CPI to 0.8% from 1.0% in January was the 17th consecutive monthly drop in median CPI inflation, and the lowest year-to-year inflation rate in the history of the Cleveland Fed’s series back to 1984 (historical data here). Therefore, as I reported before, it would seem that a stronger case could be made right now for deflation, than making a case for inflation.
Scott Grannis looks at the Producer Price Index and makes the case here that “inflation is alive and well.”
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This IMHO is a misconception: if you look at the money supply ikt is clearly INflation at historically unprecedented levels. If you look at the CPI maybe there are PRICE reductions. But prices fluctuate due to supply and demand and demand recedes when people are unsure about their future. This “fear of deflation” is just a ruse by central banks to keep inflating the money supply. Deflation does not keep people from spending – they always spend what’s necessary. And money NOT “spent” is then saved which means it is credit to someone who invests it for capital goods etc. thus it is again being spent, only not for consumption. Money never lies completely idle to any extent whether there’s inflation, deflation, stability or a solar eclipse. For deflation to seriously happen, not only the current extreme credit expansion by the central banks and states (through “quantitative easing”, stimulus packages, monetising and then spending national debt etc.) but also the money that was released into the economy PRIOR to the collapse would have to be “mopped up” again. This is nowhere to be seen nor would it be technically possible (confiscation aside) so we will rather see inflation than deflation.