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The most significant upward contributions came from the food group, the tobacco and alcohol group, and the personal and health care group. All the subgroups in the food group recorded increases in the March 2001 quarter, with the fruit and vegetables subgroup making the most significant contribution with an increase of 9.3 per cent. Both subgroups in the tobacco and alcohol group showed increases in prices, with cigarettes and tobacco making the largest contribution with an increase of 2.5 per cent, mainly due to the annual rise in excise duty on cigarettes and tobacco.
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U.S. consumer prices rose slightly in March, the Labor Department said on Tuesday . . But airline fares, new vehicles and tobacco and smoking products logged declines. [This graph only]
If you don't smoke, you probably didn't notice that inflation was on the rise last month.
Not by much, but on the up side nonetheless.
The government says consumer inflation edged up 0.2 percent in November as tamer energy costs and cheaper clothing prices helped to blunt the biggest jump in tobacco costs in seven months.
The government said a large, 3.6 percent gain in prices of cigarettes and other tobacco products accounted for most of the upturn. That marked the biggest jump in tobacco prices since a 4.4 percent rise in April. Tobacco prices have been pushed up by the cost of expensive liability settlements. [This graph only]
After a stormy September, inflation at the consumer level calmed in October, tempered by declining prices for gasoline and tobacco and the biggest drop in airline fares in 16 months. . .
Economists offered a number of possible reasons for the decline: airlines easing fuel surcharges during the month; the impact of discounts as passenger traffic slowed; and a temporary statistical quirk arising from adjusting prices for seasonal variations.
Consumer prices jumped 0.5 percent in September, the biggest advance since June, as energy prices rebounded sharply. . . Tobacco prices, which have been pushed up by the cost of expensive liability settlements, rose 3.5 percent, the biggest gain since April. [This graph only]
Elsewhere in the report, the price of tobacco products, including cigarettes, fell 1.3 percent. [This graph only]
Consumer prices moved barely higher in May as falling costs for gasoline, tobacco and clothing helped restrain rising airfares and the biggest jump in food costs in more than two years. . .
Declining tobacco costs also kept inflation in check last month. Prices for tobacco products fell 2.7% in May, the biggest drop since March 1999. [This graph only]
Economists said a rise in tobacco prices also probably contributed to a faster rate of increase in the CPI.
``We were warned that the excise tax that went into effect in January, only part of showed up in tobacco prices that month,'' Abate said. ``The remainder is probably going to show up this month. So our expectation is that tobacco is going to be up 1.5 to 2 percent.'' [This graph only]
Inflation at the consumer level jumped 0.4 percent in September, the biggest increase in five months, reflecting sharply higher prices for gasoline, cigarettes and clothing. . . The core CPI increase of 0.3 percent would have been an even smaller 0.2 percent in September had it not been for a sharp spurt in tobacco costs, which were up 6.5 percent. That was the largest monthly rise since an 18.5 percent spurt in tobacco costs last December.
Higher tobacco and apparel prices should boost the September U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) due on Tuesday, economists said, a report expected to rivet the financial markets' attention. . . Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette money market economist Marilyn Schaja said if the September core CPI is up 0.3 percent excluding the influence of tobacco, it ``would almost clinch the case for a Fed tightening.'' . . Schaja said she expected the September CPI to be up 0.4 percent, the core CPI to be up 0.3 percent, and the core CPI excluding tobacco to be up 0.2 percent.