July Opens Positive
The Pulse is back this week and it comes with some positive news. In the first week of July, independent retailers reported that their same store sales were up 1.06 percent compared to the same period in 2017. Customer counts were up 0.34 percent. Last week ended on a down note and June 2018 was down 2.14 percent compared to last year.
Last week the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its June consumer price index report, which showed that food at home prices increased 0.2 percent during the month. Breaking down that number showed increases in the subcategories dairy (0.7 percent), cereal/bakery (0.6 percent), fruits/vegetables (0.5 percent), nonalcoholic beverages (0.3 percent), and other (0.1 percent). On the flip side was meat/poultry/fish/eggs, which declined 0.6 percent during the month.
In the past 12 months, food at home prices have increased 0.36 percent. All items increased just 0.1 percent during June, due mainly to falling energy prices during the month. The overall index has still increased 2.87 percent over the past 12 months.