**MNI: 5 Things We Learned From December CPI Data>

By Kevin Kastner, Sara Haire, and Holly Stokes

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - The following are the key points from the 

Consumer Price Index data for December released by the Bureau of Labor 

Statistics Friday: 

     - December CPI came in as expected by analysts, rising 0.1% in the 

month. This stands well below the 0.3% whisper number for the headline 

measure and will likely surprise market participants who expected a 

strong number on rebounds in some categories. However, the change before 

rounding was +0.1498%, within a hair of being rounded up to +0.2%. 

     - Core CPI rose 0.3% (+0.2767% unrounded), slightly ahead of the 

0.2% gain expected by analysts and driven by a 0.3% gain in owners 

equivalent rents.  Analysts had not missed December core CPI to the low 

side in the last 25 years and in fact miss very rarely at all, so 

today's data is in contrast to that trend. 

     - Apparel prices fell 0.5% in December after a 1.3% decline in 

November, where analysts had expected a rebound. Physician services 

prices rose 0.3% after a 0.8% November decline and lodging away from 

home rose 0.8% after a 1.3% decline. 

     - The y/y rate for headline CPI slipped to 2.1% from 2.2% in 

November, but the y/y rate for core CPI rose to 1.8% from 1.7% in the 

previous month. 

     - Energy prices were down 1.2% for December after a 3.9% surge in 

November, with gasoline prices down 2.7%. CPI excluding only energy 

rose 0.3%. Food prices were up 0.2%. Within the core, prices moved 

higher for both new and used vehicles, as holiday sales may not have 

been as deep as usual.

     ** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 ** 

[TOPICS: MAUDS$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]