“The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the South declined 2.2 percent in November to 205.559 (1982-84=100), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that this was the second consecutive record monthly decrease since the reporting of monthly changes began in January 1987. Lower prices for transportation were responsible for the majority of the decline. The energy index decreased 18.9 percent over the month—the largest one-month decline since the reporting of monthly changes began in January 1978, while food costs were unchanged. Over the same period, the core inflation rate, as measured by the all items less food and energy index, inched down 0.1 percent.”