Seeking Alpha, a crowd-sourced content service that publishes news on financial markets, said the prices of tobacco and smoking products in the U.S. rose 6.8% in January compared to a year ago on an unadjusted basis. Overall, core inflation was up 3.3% year-over-year during the month, which was slightly higher than the pace in December and above the expectations of analysts.
On a month-to-month comparison, tobacco and smoking products were up 0.4% in January to mark the fifth month in a row of higher pricing for the broad category.
Analysts have not moved off their position that Philip Morris International, Altria, Imperial Brands, and British American Tobacco could all see benefits under the Trump Administration.
Seeking Alpha said, “UBS sees the Republican control of Congress as a slight positive for tobacco stocks. Analyst Faham Baig reminded investors that Republican control has historically been seen as a positive for U.S. tobacco, due to the likelihood of reduced regulation. On that note, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the OMB withdrew in January the menthol cigarette ban and the U.S. has pulled back from the World Health Organization.”
