Consumer Prices Ticked Down In October

By Mark Memmott

Published November 16, 2011 at 7:50 AM CST

There was a scant 0.1 percent dip in the consumer price index in October from September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics just reported.

The major reason for the dip: "The energy index turned down in October after increasing in each of the three previous months as the gasoline and household energy indexes declined after a series of seasonally adjusted increases."

On that point, the energy news this month may not be quite so good. The Associated Press just moved this "alert": "Oil hits $100 per barrel for the first time since July."

According to BLS, consumer prices have risen 3.5 percent in the past year.

Mark Memmott

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.

See stories by Mark Memmott