Use of seasonally adjusted inflation data?

[musicgold]

Hi,

I have seen some people use seasonally adjusted inflation indices. I am trying to understand when one needs seasonally adjusted inflation data.

Thanks.

 

[aaronhotchner]

It's useful to look at seasonally adjusted economic data because some things, like retail sales, are obviously seasonal. It is silly to look at November sales compared to December sales and say December was the stronger month in the economy because December will always have more sales. Data where you can pretty easily recognize why the time of year would matter should be seasonally adjusted, but it is less necessary for things like Treasury rates because they are not really affected by time of year.