The Consumer Price Index was flat in July (seasonally adjusted), as expected, after the 0.7% increase in June.  Over the year the CPI is down by 2.1%, the largest 12 month decrease exhibited yet, where March of 2008 marks the first instance of a 12-month decline in the CPI since 1955.  The energy index decreased by 0.4% in July, while down by 28.5% over the year. The food index fell by 0.3% over the month, although is up slightly, by 0.8% over the year. Excluding food and energy prices, which tend to be most volatile in terms of expenditure categories in a typical consumption bundle, the Core CPI is up by 0.1% in July, and has advanced by 1.8% since July 2008.

Industrial Production increased by 0.5% to an index value of 96 (2002=100) in July.  This is the first monthly increase in the index since December 2007, excluding a hurricane related correction in October of 2008.  Over the year, the industrial production index is down by 13.1%.  Capacity Utilization was reported at 68.5%, rebounding from the 68.1% level in June, revised from 68.0%, which is the lowest level since the series was instated in 1967  In May 2008, capacity utilization was as high as 78.6%.

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