Business news with words department+increase+prices. 34 news.

OIL prices jumped in light trading yesterday after the government reported that consumer spending surged last month, raising hopes that the US economy will weather the crisis roiling credit markets and that demand for oil and gasoline will strengthen. The Commerce Department said consumer spending jumped 1.1 percent in November, the biggest one-month gain since 2004 and well above analyst expectations for an 0.7 percent increase. Light, sweet crude for February delivery rose US$2.25 to settle at US$93.31 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil prices were also supported by stocks, which rose yesterday, and a slightly weaker dollar. Energy investors often view stock market moves as reflective of overall economic sentiment. Also, oil futures offer a hedge against a weak dollar, and oil futures bought and sold in dollars are more attractive to foreign investors when the greenback is falling. Many observers blame oil's rise last month to near US$100 on speculators

OVERALL consumer prices in Hong Kong rose 3.4 percent year on year in November, slightly higher than October's 3.2 percent, the Census and Statistics Department said yesterday. The larger increase was mainly attributed to higher costs for town gas, private housing rents, outdoor dining as well as package tours, a spokesman for the department said. The spokesman said forecast for inflation in 2007 remained unchanged at two percent, adding that the slightly higher increase in November had been taken into account in the outlook, which was announced in mid-November. Looking ahead, sustained economic expansion, high food and oil prices, the weak US dollar and the appreciation of the yuan would continue to exert pressures, he added. "Lately, the pick-up in private housing rents also deserved attention. Yet the sustained increase in labor productivity should help mitigate the pressures to some extent," he added. For the three-month period ended November, the average

THE difference in yield between Japanese and US 10-year bonds climbed last week to the widest in a month on signs inflation is a bigger threat in the United States than in Japan. The extra yield investors demand to hold Treasuries instead of Japanese notes climbed as high as 2.696 percentage points on Friday, after a Labor Department report showed the biggest increase in US producer prices in 34 years. Japan's bond yields rose less than US debt after confidence among the Asian nations' largest manufacturers slumped more than forecast, cementing speculation the Bank of Japan will delay raising interest rates. "JGBs are a better buy than Treasuries at the moment," Xinyi Lu, chief strategist at the international treasury division at Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd in Tokyo, told Bloomberg News. "Nobody believes very firmly that there will be inflation here again." The yield on the 1.5-percent bond due December 2017 fell two basis points last week to 1.545 percent at

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The underlying rate of U.S. inflation accelerated in November, the Labor Department said Friday. The consumer price index increased 0.8%, driven by a 5.7% gain in energy prices, the fastest increase in energy prices since March. This is the biggest gain in consumer prices in more than two years. Food prices rose 0.3%, and apparel, airline and drug prices also spiked. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy costs, was up 0.3% in November, the biggest gain since January. Economists were expecting the CPI to rise 0.7% in November after a 0.3% gain in October. The core rate was expected to rise 0.2% after rising 0.2% in the previous month.

STOCKS finished mixed in another volatile session yesterday after a spike in wholesale prices touched off inflation concerns and partially overshadowed a strong increase in retail sales last month. Despite the uneven economic news, a strong forecast by Honeywell International Inc propped up the Dow Jones industrial average. Wall Street, which has this week paid close attention to steps by the Federal Reserve to stoke greater movement in moribund credit markets, again looked to fresh economic data for signals about the health of the economy. In one unwelcome development, prices at the wholesale level jumped 3.2 percent in November -- their biggest increase in 34 years -- after a steep rise in wholesale gasoline prices. The news wasn't all bad, however. The Commerce Department said retail sales rose in November by the largest amount in six months, and a Labor Department report showed a drop in new claims filed by those seeking jobless benefits. The modest movement on Wall

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. retail sales rose a better-than-expected 1.2% in November, the best gain in six months, the Commerce Department estimated Thursday. The sales gains were widespread across most kinds of retail outlets, including gasoline, department stores and hardware stores. Auto sales were the only major source of weakness, falling 1%. The consensus forecast of Wall Street economists was for retail sales to rise 0.7%. Excluding autos, sales rose 1.8%. Wall Street had expected a increase of 0.7%. Higher prices at the pump contributed to the November sales gain. Excluding gasoline, sales increased 0.6%.

OIL futures rose sharply yesterday after the government reported unexpected declines in stocks of crude and heating oil last week and the Federal Reserve announced a plan to help banks weather the credit crisis. Crude supplies fell 700,000 barrels during the week ended December 7, according to a weekly inventory report from the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration. Analysts had expected a 100,000 barrel increase. And supplies of distillates, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, fell 800,000 barrels; analysts had expected inventories to rise by 300,000 barrels. "Traders are concerned about that drop in distillate supplies," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp., in Chicago. Earlier, the Fed said it was working with other central banks to try to counter the credit crisis. That alleviated some of investors' disappointment that the Fed on Tuesday cut interest rates by just a quarter percentage point. Many investors had hoped for a

UNITED States retailers, offering holiday discounts of 50 percent or more this week, may see profits erode even as customers flock to stores. Wal-Mart Stores Inc will mark down toys and TVs online through this week, while Kohl's Corp, the fourth-biggest US department store, sold jewelry at 60 percent off during the first days of the holiday shopping season, which started the day after Thanksgiving, so-called Black Friday. Analysts said a lack of "must-have" products in 2007 means retailers will rely on lower prices, threatening margins in the biggest quarter of the year, Bloomberg News said. Sales in November and December may increase at the slowest pace since 2002, according to the National Retail Federation, as rising fuel and food prices discourage consumers from purchasing higher-priced gifts. The NRF said shoppers each spent an average 3.5 percent less this year during the weekend after Thanksgiving. "Black Friday draws crowds, how about profits?"

WASHINGTON - U.S. inflation last month continued to accelerate at a pace that may limit the Federal Reserve's room to cut interest rates in 2008. Consumer prices rose 0.3 percent in October, the Labor Department said Thursday, matching economists' forecasts. Prices were 3.5 percent higher than a year earlier, the biggest 12-month increase since August 2006. "There are no alarm bells going off today, but neither does it provide any wiggle room to cut rates," said Julia Coronado, a senior economist at Barclays Capital Inc. in New York. Policymakers "have to take the inflation threat seriously.

CONSUMER prices in the US rose last month at the same pace as September, led by increases in fuel costs that threaten to boost inflation and slow growth. The cost of living increased 0.3 percent in October, as forecast, the Labor Department said yesterday in Washington. So-called core producer prices, which exclude fuel and food costs, rose 0.2 percent for a fifth month. Gasoline and heating-oil prices started rising in late October and have continued higher this month, suggesting fuel costs will remain a concern. Meanwhile, annual inflation in the euro zone rose to 2.6 percent in October, due to higher fuel and food prices across the 13 countries that use the currency, the EU statistics agency said. The increase puts more pressure on the European Central Bank to consider an interest rate rise to curb the hike in costs. The price index rose from 2.1 percent in September, and marks a two-year high despite the strong euro currency which continues to offer European industry and

WASHINGTON Consumer inflation posted another elevated reading in October as energy prices shot up by the fastest pace in five months. The Labor Department reported Thursday that its Consumer Price Index rose by 0.3 percent last month, the second straight month with inflation at that level. The acceleration was occurring because of another jump in energy prices and continued increases in food costs. Meanwhile, the government said that the number of laid off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits rose by 20,000 last week to 339,000, the highest level in four weeks.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The consumer price index increased 0.3% in October, driven by a 1.4% gain in energy prices, the Labor Department said Thursday. This was the fastest increase in energy prices since May. Food prices rose 0.3%. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy costs, was up 0.2% in October. Economists were expecting the CPI to rise 0.3% in October after a 0.3% gain in September. The core rate was expected to rise 0.2% in October after rising 0.2% in the previous month.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Prices that U.S. residents paid for imported goods rose 1.8% in October, the biggest increase since May 2006, the Labor Department reported Friday. Imported petroleum prices rose 6.9%, but prices of other goods rose a more moderate 0.5%. Excluding all fuels, import prices rose 0.3%. Meanwhile, export prices jumped 0.9% in October, including a 3.9% rise in agricultural prices. Excluding agriculture, export prices rose 0.5% in October. In the past year, import prices are up 9.6%, including a 41.4% increase in petroleum prices. Excluding petroleum, import prices are up 3.2%. Fed officials are watching import prices closely to see if the weaker dollar is fueling U.S. inflation.

THE prospect of a stronger US economy and word of possible new UN sanctions against Iran sent crude oil futures back above US$96 a barrel yesterday. The Labor Department reported that employers boosted payrolls by 166,000 jobs in October, the biggest increase in months and double what economists had forecast. Meanwhile, October's unemployment rate held steady at 4.7 percent. Separately, the Commerce Department said factory orders rose 0.2 percent in September, better than the 0.4 percent decline analysts were expecting. "It suggests that concerns about the economy ... are overblown a little bit," said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy and Economic Research Inc., in Winchester, Massachusetts. Oil futures added to their gains late yesterday when the British Foreign Office said the U.N. Security Council has agreed to draft a new sanctions resolution that could be passed in November if Iranian cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency does not

CRUDE oil prices shot higher and then retreated yesterday, reaching a new record of US$96 a barrel before concerns about the US economy and France's decision to release oil from its strategic petroleum reserve motivated investors to cash in some of their recent gains. The Commerce Department's report that consumer spending rose by 0.3 percent in September, less than the 0.4 percent increase analysts expected, raised the prospect of a slowing economy that could depress demand for oil. And downbeat news about manufacturing came from the Institute for Supply Management, which said industrial activity grew in October at the weakest pace since March. Still, oil prices have surged 20 percent in one month, and when any market rises that far that fast, investors tend to sell to lock in some of their gains. The Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates a quarter-percentage point on Wednesday got a mixed reception in the oil market but probably contributed to some of Thursday's

Reuters - Incomes rose in September and consumer prices posted a modest increase, the Commerce Department said on Thursday in a report implying little problem with inflation.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The U.S. economy shook off the worst housing downturn in a generation to grow at a 3.9% annual pace in third quarter, the best performance in six quarters, the Commerce Department estimated Wednesday. The increase in gross domestic product was better than the 3.4% gain expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. Growth was well-balanced in the period from July to September, with strong contributions from consumers, exports, capital spending, military spending, and inventory building. Housing investments continued to be a major drag. Despite rising worries about commodity prices, the GDP price index, the broadest measure of price changes in the economy, rose just 0.8% annualized, matching a nine-year low. Consumer prices rose 1.7%, while core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, rose 1.8%, just within the Federal Reserve's target zone.

WALL Street closed slightly lower in erratic trading yesterday as investors, uneasy about the credit markets and record-high oil prices, took little solace from reports on new home sales and durable goods orders. The Commerce Department said sales of new homes rose 4.8 percent in September from August's levels. The market initially popped on the data, as economists had predicted a decline. But it eventually pulled back because the sales increase was due to a big downward revision in August's decline, and that homebuilders had offered discounts in September to move inventory. "The sad part is, even with the discounts, we still have inventory overhang. And that's a problem," said Michael Strauss, chief economist at Commonfund. He noted that home prices are still falling, as are sales of existing homes, which make up the majority of the housing market. Another report showed that orders of big-ticket items, one gauge of business spending, fell 1.7 percent in September,

NEW YORK - Wall Street closed slightly lower in erratic trading Thursday as investors uneasy about the credit markets and record-high oil prices took little solace from reports on new home sales and durable goods orders. The Commerce Department said sales of new homes rose 4.8 percent in September from August's levels. The market initially popped on the data, as economists had predicted a decline. But it eventually pulled back because the sales increase was caused by a big downward revision in August's decline, and because home builders had offered discounts in September to move inventory. "

OIL futures extended their declines yesterday on expectations that the government's weekly fuel inventory report will show crude supplies increased last week. Analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires on average predict that crude inventories rose by 300,000 barrels during the week ended October 19. However, estimates vary widely, ranging from an increase of 2 million barrels to a decrease of 2 million barrels. The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration will issue its inventory report Wednesday. Futures have declined every day since crude prices rose to a record above US$90 a barrel last week. Tuesday's retreat came as traders shrugged off initial concerns about a possible Turkish incursion into northern Iraq in search of Kurdish rebels. Concerns about a disruption in Iraqi crude sent oil prices higher early Tuesday, but the fact the gains didn't hold was a sign the market may be due for a correction, or sharp move lower, analysts said. "I think the