Why is the glut of consumer goods easing in the United States?
Despite rising gasoline prices, overall retail prices in the United States barely budged in May, the government reported on Wednesday. Skip to next paragraph The New York Times The Labor Department said its Consumer Price Index rose 0.1 percent last month after being unchanged in April. The index measures how much consumers spend on an array of goods and services, and is considered a gauge of inflation in the economy. As the government borrows hundreds of billions of dollars to finance its bailouts and lending programs, some investors have grown leery about inflation. Prices of commodities like gold, copper and crude oil have climbed, and interest rates on government bonds have risen to their highest levels in five months, reflecting concern that prices were rising. Some investors even speculated that the Federal Reserve might need to raise its target interest rates, which are currently near zero. But Fed governors have given no indication that they would raise rates anytime soon. Econ
