November CPI Report Raises Doubts About US Inflation Data

After long-awaited government data showed underlying US inflation cooled to a four-year low in November, economists agreed on at least this much: something was off.

In a report fouled by the record-long government shutdown, inflation in several categories that had long been stubborn seemed to nearly evaporate. Chief among those were shelter costs, which make up about a third of the consumer price index, but other categories like airfares and apparel notably declined.