CPI & EIA Inventory

EIA inventory: Crude -0.8M barrels; Distillate -2.8Mb; Gasoline -5.4Mb; Refinery Utilization +0.6% to 86.2% vs 12 months ago 91.6%. Crude prices @ 72.75 per barrel; Unleaded Gasoline @ 2.18 Gal

Despite the governments best efforts to manage inflation expectations by "hiding" or obfuscatating the real rate of inflation: Yesterdays PPI & todays CPI evidence that the commodities price spike has permeated the supply chain.

Attempting to eliminate energy and food from the equation is futile. As we have maintained all along, big brother is saying "tame" inflation out of one side of his mouth, whilst saying "vigilance" is necessary out the other.

Meanwhile, the Fed heads are muttering and whispering amongst themselves that: the only lever they can pull to stop this RAMPANT inflation or stagflation is the low end interest rate lever.

And rest assured, they will keep pulling on that lever until the superliquifaction based speculation in the commodities and asset markets adjusts to more appropriate long term economically sustainable levels.

Putting away the soapbox and moving West.... Core CPI +0.3% vs prior +0.1%, the biggest gain in one year. Total CPI +0.4% vs prior +0.1%.

Inside the number: YOY: Core +2.1%; Total CPI-U +3.4%; Total CPI-W +3.6%; Total CPI Chained +3.0%; Q106 CPI +2.8% vs all of 05 +2.2%.

YOY Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) Q106 all items +4.3%; Housing +3.2%; Transportation +10.5%; Medical Care +4.2%; Education 3.2%; Food 2.5%; Energy 21.8%; Energy Commodities 36.9%

"After months of subdued core CPI inflation amidst an environment of charged energy prices, today's report provides a signal, albeit noisy, that the long-awaited pass-through of higher costs to a wide range of consumer prices has arrived," said Kenneth Beauchemin, U.S. economist at Global Insight. Do ya think so?

Beauchemin said the rise in the CPI was consistent with expectations that the Federal Reserve would be hiking rates two more times before stopping.

Apparently Mr. Beauchemin did not buy into yesterdays PPI and FOMC statement media twist as the markets did, good for him.
Full CPI report.

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