EconoIndicators / Consumer Price Index (CPI)

CPI At a Glance

CPI-U: 211.080
Monthly Change: Up 0.5%
Year-to-year Change: Up 4.3%
Core CPI-U: Up 0.3% [Seasonally adjusted]
CPI-W: 206.744
Monthly Change: Up 0.5%
Year-to-year Change: Up 4.6%
Chained CPI-U: 121.895
Monthly Change: Up 0.5%%
Year-to-Year Change: Up 3.9%

Important notes: Numbers are not seasonally adjusted unless noted; base year=100 for CPI-U and CPI-W is 1982-1984; base year for C-CPI-U is 1999.

Technorati Tags: Consumer, Price, Index, CPI, inflation

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX: JANUARY 2008

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased
0.5 percent in January before seasonal adjustment, the Bureau of Labor
Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The January
level of 211.080 (1982-84=100) was 4.3 percent higher than in January
2007.

The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers
(CPI-W) increased 0.5 percent in January prior to seasonal adjustment.
The January level of 206.744 (1982-84=100) was 4.6 percent higher than in
January 2007.

The Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U)
increased 0.5 percent in January on a not seasonally adjusted basis. The
January level of 121.895 (December 1999=100) was 3.9 percent higher than
in January 2007. Please note that the indexes for the post-2006 period
are subject to revision. Previously published and revised data for 2006
and 2007 are shown on page 5.

CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U)

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-U increased 0.4 percent in
January. The indexes for food and for energy each advanced 0.7 percent,
following increases in December of 0.1 and 1.7 percent, respectively. The
index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent, following
increases of 0.2 percent in each of the preceding nine months. The
January advance reflects larger increases than in December in the indexes
for apparel, for medical care, for recreation, for education and
communication, and for other goods and services.

Table A. Percent changes in CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U)

Seasonally adjusted

Expenditure Compound
Category Changes from preceding month annual Un-
rate adjusted
3-mos. 12-mos.
July Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. ended ended
2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 Jan. 2008 Jan. 2008

All items………. .2 .0 .4 .3 .9 .4 .4 6.8 4.3
Food and beverages .3 .4 .5 .2 .4 .1 .7 4.6 4.8
Housing……….. .2 .1 .3 .2 .4 .3 .2 3.5 3.0
Apparel……….. .4 -.5 .2 .1 .6 .1 .4 4.6 -.2
Transportation…. .3 -.6 .7 .3 3.5 1.0 .5 22.3 9.4
Medical care…… .6 .5 .4 .5 .4 .3 .5 5.1 4.9
Recreation…….. -.1 -.1 .2 .3 .2 .0 .2 1.6 1.0
Education and
communication.. .2 .3 .2 .3 .0 .3 .4 2.8 3.4
Other goods and
services……. .1 .1 .3 .2 .2 .3 .4 3.9 3.0
Special indexes:
Energy………… .1 -1.7 1.4 1.0 6.9 1.7 .7 43.6 19.6
Food………….. .3 .4 .5 .2 .4 .1 .7 4.7 4.9
All items less
food and energy .2 .2 .2 .2 .2 .2 .3 3.1 2.5

Note: Seasonal factors have been recalculated to reflect developments
during 2007. For this reason, some of the seasonally adjusted figures
above and elsewhere in this report differ from those previously published.
See the technical note on page 9 for details.

The food and beverages index rose 0.7 percent in January, up from 0.1
in December and the largest monthly increase since last February. The
index for food at home advanced 0.9 percent, following virtually no change
in December. The index for fruits and vegetables increased 2.2 percent in
January, following a decline of 0.3 percent in December. The indexes for
fresh vegetables, for fresh fruits, and for processed fruits and
vegetables increased 3.3, 1.8, and 0.7 percent, respectively. The index
for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs advanced 0.8 percent in January,
following a decrease of 0.1 percent in December. Prices for poultry, for
fish and seafood, for pork, and for other meats each increased, while beef
prices were virtually unchanged. The index for dairy products rose 0.2
percent after a 0.2 percent decrease in December as a 2.1 percent increase
in cheese prices more than offset a small decline in milk prices. The
index for nonalcoholic beverages rose 1.6 percent in January, reflecting
increases in prices for carbonated drinks and for coffee. The indexes for
cereal and bakery products and for other food at home rose 0.6 and 0.4
percent, respectively. The other two components of the food and beverages
index–food away from home and alcoholic beverages–each increased 0.4
percent.

The index for housing increased 0.2 percent in January. The index
for shelter increased 0.3 percent in January, the same as in December.
Within shelter, the indexes for rent and for owners’ equivalent rent each
increased 0.3 percent and the index for lodging away from home rose 1.1
percent. (Prior to seasonal adjustment, the index for lodging away from
home increased 5.0 percent.) The index for fuels and utilities was
virtually unchanged in January. The index for household fuels declined
0.1 percent as declines in the indexes for natural gas and electricity–
down 2.2 and 0.1 percent, respectively–more than offset a 4.5 percent
increase in the index for fuel oil. The indexes for garbage and trash
collection and for water and sewerage treatment rose 1.0 and 0.5 percent,
respectively. The index for household furnishings and operations
increased 0.1 percent in January, following virtually no change in each of
the preceding two months.

The transportation index increased 0.5 percent in January. The index
for gasoline rose 1.2 percent, accounting for about two-thirds of the
overall transportation increase. As of January, gasoline prices were 2.1
percent below their peak level recorded in May 2007. The index for new
vehicles declined 0.3 percent in January. (As of January, about 76
percent of the new car sample consisted of 2008 models. The 2008 models
will continue to be phased in, with adjustments for quality change, over
the next several months as they replace old models at dealerships. For a
report on quality changes for the 2008 vehicles represented in the
Producer Price Index sample, see news release USDL-07-1787 dated November
14, 2007.) The index for used cars and trucks rose 0.2 percent. During
the last 12 months, new vehicle prices have declined 0.6 percent, while
prices for used cars and trucks rose 1.4 percent. The index for public
transportation increased 0.4 percent in January, largely reflecting a 0.8
percent increase in the index for airline fares.

The index for apparel rose 0.4 percent in January, its fifth
consecutive monthly advance. (Prior to seasonal adjustment, apparel
prices declined 2.1 percent, largely as a result of post-holiday
discounting.)

Medical care costs rose 0.5 percent in January. The index for
medical care commodities–prescription drugs, nonprescription drugs, and
medical supplies–rose 0.5 percent. The index for medical care services
rose 0.6 percent. The indexes for professional services and for hospital
and related services advanced 0.4 and 1.0 percent, respectively.

The index for recreation, which was virtually unchanged in December,
increased 0.2 percent in January. Upturns in the indexes for sporting
goods and for admissions to movies, theaters, and concerts coupled with a
larger increase in the index for club dues and fees for participant sports
and group exercises largely accounted for the January advance.

The index for education and communication increased 0.4 percent in
January. Educational costs rose 0.6 percent, reflecting increases in
prices for college textbooks and charges for child care and nursery school-
-up 0.9 and 0.8 percent, respectively. The index for communication rose
0.1 percent. Within the communication group, the index for telephone
services rose 0.1 percent and the index for personal computers and
peripheral equipment increased 1.0 percent.

The index for other goods and services increased 0.4 percent in
January. The index for tobacco and smoking products rose 1.1 percent
accounting for about 55 percent of the monthly increase in this major
group.

CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W)

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and
Clerical Workers increased 0.4 percent in January.

Table B. Percent changes in CPI for Urban Wage Earners and
Clerical Workers (CPI-W)

Seasonally adjusted

All items………. .2 .0 .4 .3 1.0 .4 .4 7.7 4.6
Food and beverages .3 .5 .5 .2 .3 .1 .7 4.5 4.9
Housing……….. .1 .0 .2 .3 .4 .2 .2 3.5 3.1
Apparel……….. .5 -.2 .0 .1 .4 .2 .8 5.6 .5
Transportation…. .3 -.6 .7 .3 3.8 1.1 .7 24.6 10.2
Medical care…… .6 .5 .4 .5 .4 .3 .6 5.4 5.1
Recreation…….. -.1 -.1 .3 .2 .1 .1 .2 1.3 .7
Education and
communication.. .2 .3 .1 .3 .0 .2 .3 2.2 3.0
Other goods and
services……. .2 .1 .4 .2 .2 .4 .5 4.5 3.4
Special indexes:
Energy………… .1 -1.8 1.4 1.1 7.2 1.8 .8 45.9 20.4
Food………….. .3 .5 .5 .2 .3 .1 .7 4.6 5.0
All items less
food and energy .2 .2 .2 .2 .2 .2 .3 3.1 2.4

Consumer Price Index data for February are scheduled for release on
Friday, March 14, 2008, at 8:30 A.M. (EDT).

Month-to-month percent changes in the U.S. City Average Consumer
Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for All Items and for All
Items less food and energy, seasonally adjusted, using former and
recalculated seasonal factors for 2007.

All Items

2007 Former Recalculated Difference

January .2 .1 -.1
February .4 .3 -.1
March .6 .5 -.1
April .4 .3 -.1
May .7 .5 -.2
June .2 .3 .1
July .1 .2 .1
August -.1 .0 .1
September .3 .4 .1
October .3 .3 .0
November .8 .9 .1
December .3 .4 .1

All Items less food and energy

2007 Former Recalculated Difference

January .3 .2 -.1
February .2 .2 .0
March .1 .1 .0
April .2 .2 .0
May .1 .2 .1
June .2 .2 .0
July .2 .2 .0
August .2 .2 .0
September .2 .2 .0
October .2 .2 .0
November .3 .2 -.1
December .2 .2 .0

C-CPI-U Index Revisions

In accordance with the previously-announced schedule, the Bureau of
Labor Statistics is revising the 2006 and 2007 values of the Chained
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U), effective with the
release of January 2008 data.
The C-CPI-U was introduced with release of July data on August 16,
2002. The index in its final form employs a Tornqvist formula and utilizes
expenditure data in adjacent time periods in order to reflect the effect
of any substitution that consumers make across item categories in response
to changes in relative prices. The C-CPI-U was designed to be a closer
approximation to a “cost-of-living” index than the CPI-U and CPI-W. The
use of expenditure data for both a base period and a current period
distinguishes the C-CPI-U from the other CPI measures, which use only a
single expenditure base period to compute price change over time.
Because the current expenditure data required for the calculation of
the C-CPI-U are available only with a time lag, the index is issued first
in preliminary form, using the latest available expenditure data at the
time of publication, and is subject to two subsequent revisions. The
preliminary values for each month of the preceding two years are revised
annually with release of the January index. Expenditure data for the year
2006 are now available, and the C-CPI-U indexes for that year are now in
final form. The initial indexes for 2007 are now revised interim indexes.
The C-CPI-U U.S. All Items index values for 2006 and 2007 as previously
published and revised are shown below.

For more information on the C-CPI-U, write to:

Bureau of Labor Statistics
Division of Consumer Prices and Price Indexes
2 Massachusetts Ave. NE, Room 3130
Washington, DC 20212

Or contact Patrick Jackman or Rob Cage either by telephone at (202) 691-
6952 or by electronic mail at Jackman.Patrick@bls.gov or Cage.Rob@bls.gov

U.S. City Average C-CPI-U All Items

2006 Interim Final
January 115.2 115.2
February 115.5 115.4
March 116.1 116.0
April 116.8 116.9
May 117.3 117.5
June 117.5 117.7
July 117.7 118.1
August 117.9 118.3
September 117.7 117.8
October 117.2 117.1
November 117.0 116.9
December 117.1 117.0
Annual average 116.9 117.0

2007 Initial Interim
January 117.427 117.310
February 118.030 117.897
March 118.962 118.978
April 119.552 119.712
May 120.041 120.290
June 120.230 120.478
July 120.157 120.384
August 120.077 120.198
September 120.423 120.538
October 120.699 120.823
November 121.178 121.443
December 121.088 121.322
Annual average n.a. 119.948

Consumer Price Index (CPI) - January 2008

Source: Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics

Rate this:

3.0

Share and Enjoy: