Consumer prices in the United States tumbled 0.7 percent in December, the third straight monthly fall, as energy prices continued to decline, the Labor Department reported on Friday.

The fall followed steeper falls of 1.7 percent in November and 1.0 percent in October but was slightly smaller than the 0.9 percent decline economists had expected for the month.

For December, energy prices decreased 8.3 percent, compared with a 17 percent plunge in November, marking the fifth consecutive monthly decline in energy costs. The back-to-back retreat came after energy costs recorded big advances in May, June and July.

Meanwhile, food costs edged down 0.1 percent in December after having risen by 0.2 percent in the previous month.

"Core" consumer prices, which exclude volatile energy and food costs, was flat in December, the same as in November.

For the whole year, consumer prices edged up by just 0.1 percent, the smallest annual change since consumer prices actually fell 0.7 percent in 1954. Core prices were up 1.8 percent last year, compared with an increase of 2.4 percent in 2007.

Consumer prices rose by 4.1 percent for all of 2007.

Consumer prices measure inflation pressures at the retail level. Falling prices for goods and services might sound like a good thing for consumers, but a continued downward spiral could mean that the country is heading for a bout of deflation, which economists say is more dangerous than inflation.

(Xinhua News Agency January 17, 2009)