Expensive Beer, Cheap Clothes

Apparel prices are falling at a time when the cost of beer is stable and the cost of appliances made with steel is rising, according to the recently released Ernst & Young Quarterly Market Basket report, which analyzed the Consumer Price Index and tracked prices for consumer goods over the past five years. E&J cited poor Back-to-School sales as helping to drive down apparel prices but forecast clothing prices will rise in the fourth quarter as the quota on imported goods runs out.