US DATA: Jan CPI +0.4%, core +0.2% (+0.1697% unrounded) for YOY
rates of +1.6% overall & +1.0% core, a tad worse than expected. Within
core, apparel +1.0% (due to seas adj, with all areas gaining except
inflants’), airfares +2.2% (5th gain), drugs +0.2% but medical care
commodities +0.5% (which incl nonprescription drugs & eqpt). Food +0.5%
as cereals, meats, veg and beverages gained. Energy +2.1% as fuel oil
and gas jumped but nat gas and elec fell. Services (flat) and new
vehicles (-0.1%) remain subdued, as does OER (+0.1%). So bottom line is
bad seasonals and yr-start hikes should not be repeated; CPI is subdued.
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Initial Unemploy Claims +25k to 410k in Feb 12 wk, payroll survey pd, vs
403k in mid-Jan, showing very little change. Nothing unusual in state
data, analyst says. Contin’g claims +1k to 3.911m for Feb 5 wk. The data
suggest labor mkt improvement has stalled in ’11, perhaps due to storms.