"CPI has Gone Dormant"

Per the WSJ:

The consumer price index was unchanged in September compared to August, the Labor Department said Thursday. Excluding food and energy, the CPI advanced just 0.1% last month.

Unrounded, the CPI actually fell for a second-straight month, by 0.031%. That's the first back-to-back drop in two years.

"Consumer price inflation has gone dormant," said Global Insight economist Brian Bethune.

For the quarter, CPI increased by a mere 0.4% annualized (compared with 4.9% year over year) as energy costs feeding into both housing and transportation tumbled.