I don’t have much hair left, but I have a strong urge to tear out the remainder. USA TODAY story on the just-released CPI report for November:

Inflation slowed sharply to 7.1% but stayed high in November as gas prices fell, CPI report shows

Paul Davidson

Inflation throttled back significantly for a second month in November but remained elevated as goods prices that surged during the pandemic continued to dip. But the cost of services kept marching higher.

Consumer prices increased 7.1% from a year ago, down from a 7.7% advance in October and a 40-year high of 9.1% in June, as rising food and rent costs again offset declining gas prices, according to the Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected yearly inflation to dial back to 7.3%. 

On a monthly basis, consumer prices increased just 0.1% following a 0.4% rise the prior month. 

In other words, inflation in November increased at an annualized rate of 1.2%. (Core inflation, which excludes the more volatile energy and food sectors, increased by an annualized rate of 2.4%.)

This is of course great news, but somehow it’s framed as inflation “stayed high.”

I wonder why? Actually I don’t.