On our brief Christmas afternoon drive home from a family gathering in Clayton NC, we spotted a Wal-Mart service station sign for $3.01.9 regular gas. The post-Thanksgiving holiday season is not one I normally associate with high gas prices. As the chart below shows, the general pattern is for gasoline prices to peak in the summer and decline after Labor Day. This year has run counter to the pattern by a significant degree.

 

 

Perhaps the rate hikes in China will reduce demand for commodities across the board. Time will tell. Meanwhile, increased prices in crude oil and gasoline will probably widen the gap between Headline and Core CPI when the numbers are published on January 14.

 

 

 

(c) Doug Short

http://dshort.com/