8 Strange Things in Today’s Inflation Report

While consumer prices declined more than expected in October, there were some odd parts of the inflation report that stood out more than others.

The consumer price index climbed 3.2% in October from the previous year, which was a decline from September’s 3.7% increase. Growth from the prior month was flat, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Tuesday. Economists surveyed by FactSet were expecting gains of 3.3% for the year and 0.1% for the month.

“We need to see more months with soft inflation data, but the stock and bond market is celebrating today. We’re set up nicely for a year-end rally,” Gina Bolvin, president of Bolvin Wealth Management Group, wrote on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 461 points, or 1.3%. The S&P 500 gained 1.8% while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.1%.

Many investors and economists are focusing on data points such as how the gasoline index decreased from September, or how shelter costs increased. But digging deeper into the report provides some interesting—and arguably strange—details of prices that have changed drastically in the past month.

Overall food prices increased 0.3% in October from September. While that number might not be too noteworthy, there were certain food items that stuck out. For one, the price of uncooked beef roasts increased 4.1% from the previous month, while the cost of pork chops rose 3.5%. According to reports from the Agriculture Department, total cattle and hog inventory has been declining in recent months.

But while beef roasts and pork chops cost more for the American consumer, prices for apples dropped a whopping 7.9% in October from September.

It wasn’t only food that had some funky results. The prices of laundry equipment declined 5% in the month while photographic equipment and supplies increased 6.8%.

For sports fans, admission prices for sporting events jumped 3.6% from the previous month.

“These are things that could be affected by seasonal factors,” Raymond James’ Chief Economist Eugenio Aleman tells Barron’s. The National Hockey League began its regular season schedule on Oct. 10 while the National Basketball Association began its season on Oct. 24.

For people who are looking to buy their loved one a new jacket for the holiday season, women’s outerwear prices dropped 5.9%. But wrapping that coat will cost more as the price of stationary, stationary supplies, and gift wraps was up 3.5%.

Aleman said that these individual items—while interesting outliers—aren’t heavily weighted when looking at the total report.

“There are some of these items that are so small in the overall CPI that basically it’s probably not affecting much of the direction of the overall core CPI,” Aleman said.

Even if these items aren’t heavily weighted against the total inflation outcome, consumers are sure to notice these changes as they head into stores during the holiday season.

SYDNEY—Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers will deliver the government’s 2024-2025 federal budget next Tuesday amid concerns that strong revenue growth will tempt him toward a jump in spending, stoking the case for higher interest rates.

Economists expect Chalmers to announce a budget surplus for 2023-2024, supported in part by high commodity prices and strength in the job market, with unemployment continuing to hover near its lowest level in half a century.

The question on the lips of the governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Michele Bullock , will be how much of that revenue will flow back into the economy by things like added measures aimed at easing a cost-of-living surge for consumers.

Bullock told reporters Tuesday that the RBA’s board had considered a further rise in interest rates, sending a shot across the bow of the center-left Labor government ahead of the budget.

The budget is being framed ahead of a federal election expected to be held in early 2025.

The public acknowledgment of the RBA board’s discussion of what would be a 14th interest-rate rise in two years signaled that the central bank has grown more concerned about the inflation outlook after first-quarter data came in above its own expectations.

Economists have warned that the RBA isn’t even close to a decision to cut interest rates, and the more likely outcome at the moment is that the central bank will need to tighten the policy screws further before the end of this year.

“The challenge fiscal policymakers face is that although they are flush with revenue, a cautious approach ought to be taken to additional spending because the economy is still operating at full employment, and inflation is still too high,” said Paul Bloxham, chief economist at HSBC Australia.

“Loosening fiscal policy settings at this point could mean that monetary policy would need to be tightened further yet—or that rates need to be higher for longer,” he added.

The RBA is conscious of the fact that significant income tax cuts will be delivered midyear and that they target low- and middle-income earners, who are more likely to spend added income than save it.

The government has already signalled its plans to spend in the area of subsidies for local manufacturing, including for the production of solar panels.

In addition, the budget will focus on business tax incentives, increased defence spending, funding for domestic violence support, changes to student debt policy and infrastructure.

Chalmers has played down the risk over the budget stoking the flames of inflation.

“It will be a responsible budget, a restrained budget, and it will maintain our focus on that inflation fight,” he said Thursday in a radio interview.

“There will be help for people with the cost of living, but we’ll make sure that that cost-of-living help is part of the solution and not part of the problem when it comes to inflation,” he added.

A risk that the RBA will also be alert to is the probability that the government will hold back some of its revenue gains to support added spending closer to the election.

Josh Williamson , chief economist at Citi Australia, said Chalmers will likely push new spending into the future to avoid overheating the economy now.

“The government does not want to be seen promoting policies that add to the risk of further policy tightening,” he said.

This suggests that new spending will be pushed into the government’s forward budgetary projections, while measures that directly reduce inflation could be announced virtually immediately, Williamson added.