Showing posts with label deflation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label deflation. Show all posts
Friday, 8 October 2010
OECD Inflation Unchanged
Consumer prices remained the same in the year to August in the OECD. The inflation rate stayed at 1.6% as energy prices fell by 4.8% but food prices rose by 6.2%. The annual inflation rate excluding food and energy remained at 1.2% in the year to August. On a monthly basis consumer prices rose by 0.2% in August compared with July 2010. Deflation continued in Japan for the nineteenth month in a row and inflation decelerated in all other G7 countries. The euro area HICP was 1.6% in August compared with 1.7% in July.
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
Shop Price Deflation At Last
The BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index has reported deflation for the first time since February 2007. It means that shop prices are now lower than they were a year ago. The year-on-year deflation of 0.1% was driven by a fall in food inflation over recent months. Food inflation fell to 2.3% in August. The monthly figures were basically unchanged.
Friday, 28 August 2009
Normal Services May Soon Be Resumed
The most recent CBI Services Sector Survey suggests that service sector businesses are still running at below normal levels but less than in the previous quarter. Pressure on profits and deflation are not helping.
Business and professional services' volumes and values both increased slightly for the first time since May 2008 and many firms expect it to continue to increase over the next three months. However they remain below normal for the seventh consecutive quarter. Profitability suffered because of lower prices, which are expected to fall further over the next three months as competition for business continues, but may increase slightly over the coming quarter. Employment also fell again for the fifth successive quarter but less steeply than earlier in the year. Business and professional services are more optimistic than they have been for a long time.
Consumer services values and volumes fell slightly but at much slower rates than the previous three quarters. Over the next three months firms expect values to stabilise and volumes to decline. Optimism is not as strong as three months ago. Profitability in consumer services also suffered from lower prices which are also expected to continue to fall over the next quarter. Employment in consumer services was stable.
Service sector activity was less weak than in recent quarters and things may be beginning to look a bit better.
Business and professional services' volumes and values both increased slightly for the first time since May 2008 and many firms expect it to continue to increase over the next three months. However they remain below normal for the seventh consecutive quarter. Profitability suffered because of lower prices, which are expected to fall further over the next three months as competition for business continues, but may increase slightly over the coming quarter. Employment also fell again for the fifth successive quarter but less steeply than earlier in the year. Business and professional services are more optimistic than they have been for a long time.
Consumer services values and volumes fell slightly but at much slower rates than the previous three quarters. Over the next three months firms expect values to stabilise and volumes to decline. Optimism is not as strong as three months ago. Profitability in consumer services also suffered from lower prices which are also expected to continue to fall over the next quarter. Employment in consumer services was stable.
Service sector activity was less weak than in recent quarters and things may be beginning to look a bit better.
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