Plunging Gasoline Prices Lead To First U.S. Consumer Price Drop In Nine Months

U.S. consumer prices inched down by 0.1 percent in December, due to a sharp decline in gasoline futures, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday, reporting the first drop in consumer prices in nine months. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined by 0.1 percent in December on a seasonally adjusted basis after being unchanged in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said. The drop in the all items index was the result of a sharp fall in the gasoline index which plunged by 7.5 percent last month, more than offsetting increases in…