- Jim Baird, Plante Moran Financial Advisors
US consumer prices fell unexpectedly last month, marking the first decline in more than a year, official figures revealed on Friday. The Labour Department reported its CPI dropped 0.3% in March, following the preceding month's gain of 0.1%, while the so-called core CPI, which excludes volatile items, fell 0.1% in the reported month, following February's 0.2% increase. Meanwhile, market analysts expected the CPI and the core CPI to come in at 0.0% and 0.2%, respectively. According to the Labour Department, the decline in inflation was driven by lower gasoline and telephone services prices, which plunged 6.2% and 7.0%, accordingly. However, the price food advanced 0.3%, while the cost of medical care climbed 0.4% last month. Prices of motor vehicles and apparel declined 0.3% and 0.7%, respectively. The Labour Department reported also that retail sales fell 0.2% in March amid lower demand for automobiles, while analysts anticipated a 0.1% increase. Moreover, the preceding month's gain of 0.1% was revised down to a -0.3%. Excluding volatile items, retail sales came in at 0.0%, below expectations for a 0.1% rise but in line with February's revised reading. Friday's data suggested that US economic growth slowed significantly during the Q1 of 2017.
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