US consumer prices in January posted their biggest drop since 2008 as petrol prices continued to tumble, which could give a cautious Federal Reserve ammunition to keep interest rates low a bit longer.
The US Labor Department said its consumer price index fell 0.7% last month, the largest decline since December 2008, after slipping 0.3% in December.
It was the third month of decline in a row for the index.
In the 12 months to January, the US consumer price index fell 0.1%, the first decline since October 2009 and a sharp deceleration from November's 0.8% rise.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI falling 0.6% last month and slipping 0.1% from a year ago.
Meanwhile, orders for US durable goods rose for the first time in three months in January, pulled higher by a hefty increase in commercial aircraft orders, the Commerce Department said today.
New orders for long-lasting manufactured goods rose 2.8% from December to $236.1 billion.
Orders had fallen in the previous two months, with December's drop a sharp 3.7%.
In January, excluding the volatile transportation sector, new orders rose 0.3%.
Transportation equipment orders jumped 9.1%, after two months of declines.
New orders for commercial aircraft soared 128.5%, while defence aircraft orders dropped 17.9%.
