The dollar is on the march this morning, stocks are down, and the commodity complex is in retreat after consumer price index data from the Department of Labor rose in line with estimates in December, tempering inflation concerns, and production and capacity utilization rose as expected in the month.
The CPI rose 0.1% in December, both including an excluding food and energy, from November. The 0.1% rise in the total CPI, including food and energy, was less than the 0.2% rise expected, and way down from November’s 0.4% rise. For the trailing twelve months, the CPI was up 1.8% excluding food and energy and 2.7% in total.
Energy prices shoed their smallest increase in five months, the Department reported, while food rose by the most in over a year, likely driven by “soft” commodity price increases.
Industrial production, meanwhile, was up 0.6% in December from November, driven by a jump in utility prices thanks to the cold weather snap, the Federal Reserve reported. That was in line with estimates. The nation’s industries used 72% of available capacity in the month, in line with expectations.
The Dow was down 50 points at 10,660, while the S&P 500 fell 6 points to 1,142.
The dollar strengthened to $1.4390 against the Euro versus a close of $1.4499 yesterday. Gold futures for delivery in February fell $9.20 to $1,133.80 per ounce, while light sweet crude futures for delivery fell 67 cents to $79.21 per barrel.
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