October wholesale prices plunge record 2.8 percent

[Newsjock]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Wholesale prices plunged a record amount in October as energy prices fell by the largest amount in 22 years.

The Labor Department reported Tuesday that wholesale prices dropped by 2.8 percent in October, the biggest one-month decline on records that go back more than 60 years. The previous record holder was a 1.6 percent fall in October 2001, the month after the terrorist attacks.

The overall decline in the department's Producer Price Index was bigger than the 1.8 percent drop analysts had expected. However, core inflation, which excludes energy and food, was not as well-behaved, rising by a bigger-than-expected 0.4 percent.

The 0.4 percent rise in core inflation was attributed partly to special factors and did not alter the view that plunging energy prices and a sharply slowing economy were combining to slash inflation pressures.

Read more: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/October-wholesale-prices-apf-13604948.html

[kayakjohnny]

1. And yet, not a dang thing has gone back down in my Publix supermarket here

in north central Florida. Greedy bastards.

The edit is that I just noticed it doesn't include food, but I think food prices would also come back down, at least a bit.

[Jackpine Radical]

2. The cost of transporting food has to have dropped.

That's where the immediate savings would be. There are many ties to link the prices of energy and food, but because food is seasonal, I suppose it will take a while for the major price reductions to show up.

Because of low oil costs, the price of fertilizers, pesticides, and tractor fuel all go down, making it cheaper to plant, harvest & transport crops, but it takes a while for all those savings to percolate through to the grocery store.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

3. Yup.

But the bastards in the food industry and trucking industries seem to be loath to pass those lower costs on to the consumer.

Same as it ever was.

[Jackpine Radical]

4. Greed

is GOOD!