March 17, 2008 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Consumer prices in February 2008

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) was virtually unchanged in February, following a 0.4-percent rise in January.

[Chart data—TXT]

Each of the three groups—food, energy, and all items less food and energy—contributed to the deceleration. 

The index for food at home, which rose 0.9 percent in January, increased 0.3 percent in February. The moderation reflected a downturn in the indexes for fruits and vegetables, for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs, and for nonalcoholic beverages. 

The index for energy turned down in February as a 1.9-percent decline in the index for energy commodities more than offset a 1.7-percent increase in the index for energy services. 

The index for all items less food and energy was virtually unchanged after increasing 0.3 percent in January. The deceleration reflects smaller increases in the indexes for shelter, for medical care, for recreation, for education and communication, and for other goods and services, and a decline in the index for apparel. 

For the 12 months ended in February 2008, the CPI-U rose 4.0 percent, as shown in the chart.

These data are from the BLS Consumer Price Index program. To learn more, see "Consumer Price Index: February 2008" (PDF) (HTML), news release USDL 08-0334.