Jun 14, 2008 7:30 am US/Eastern
CBS4 Your Money: A Week Of Inflation
Consumers Could Close Their Wallets And Wait It Out
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
The jump in the US consumer price index was the largest since last November, as items such as air fares and gasoline became much more expensive.
But on Monday, consumers thought twice about what was in their salads as the government reported that some types of tomatoes could be tainted with salmonella. That news had local growers worried, too, with millions of dollars' worth of tomatoes ready to ship just in the Florida region alone.
On Tuesday, a glimmer of good news as the price of oil dropped and the dollar strengthened - all based on more reports that demand for gasoline was declining.
But on Wednesday, crude oil prices spiked up again. The energy department was predicting gas prices could reach $4.25 a gallon by the July 4th holiday.
Thursday, there were signs that the government stimulus checks might help retailers ring up a better bottom line. May retail sales were up one percent - the best showing since last November. And Exxon-Mobil made public its plans to sell all its company-owned gas stations.
The week came to a close when on Friday, inflation showed prices climbed 4.2 percent in the 12 months to May, after a 3.9 percent year-over-year gain in April.
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