Consumer Prices Down 2.1 Percent Over 2008

By Frank Ahrens
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 14, 2009 11:31 AM

Consumer prices over the past year have fallen at their fastest rate in 59 years, the Labor Department said Friday morning, raising troubling early warnings that the U.S. economy is shrinking.

Consumer prices, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, were flat in July, meeting analysts' expectations.

However, prices fell 2.1 percent over the past 12 months, their sharpest drop since the period ending in January 1950. The plunge was led by energy prices, which are down 28.1 percent since July of last year, when oil peaked at $147 per barrel and gasoline was going for $4.11 per gallon.