Deep discounts on clothes and plummeting car and gasoline costs helped keep a lid on prices in Miami-Fort Lauderdale, as national data also suggested there is little fear, in the short-term, of an inflationary spike.
The Consumer Price Index in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale region was down 1.8 percent versus a year ago, and dipped 0.1 percent compared to June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday.
Nationally, CPI slipped 1.5 percent versus 2008 and ticked up 0.4 percent versus the previous month.
Economists were particularly focused on the ``core'' CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, for hints that the billions of dollars worth of stimulus money sloshing into the economy might spark inflation.
Nationally, core CPI was up 1.4 percent versus last year, the smallest increase in five years, suggesting the Federal Reserve is unlikely to raise interest rates in the short term to ward off higher prices.
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