Faced with rising prices, consumers use less.
If it raised prices, consumers complained about gouging.
It also decreases the prices consumers pay for stuff.
"But despite lower stocks and higher gas prices, consumers continued to buy".
Absent falling interest rates or rapidly advancing stock prices, consumers often turn to savings.
While online competition generally drives down commodity prices, consumers have proved willing to pay more for their favorite specialty products.
And, hit by higher fuel costs as well as falling house prices, consumers may finally be flagging.
So economists predict that the prices consumers pay in the supermarket will rise only moderately this year.
Why do economists so dread falling prices?One common explanation is that in anticipation of falling prices, consumers delay purchases, causing them to fall still further.
But at current prices, consumers are feeling the pinch and governments are becoming concerned about the weight of energy costs on economic growth, according to the energy agency.
