June 18, 2001 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Consumer prices increase 0.4 percent in May

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.4 percent in May, following a 0.3-percent increase in April. 

[Chart data—TXT]

The energy index, which increased 1.8 percent in April, rose 3.1 percent in May, accounting for about two-thirds of the overall May CPI advance. The index for petroleum-based energy increased 5.6 percent and the index for energy services rose 0.6 percent. The food index increased 0.3 percent in May, following a 0.1-percent rise in April. Excluding food and energy, the CPI-U rose 0.1 percent in May, its smallest monthly increase since December 2000.

During the first five months of 2001, the CPI-U rose at a 4.0 percent seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). This compares with an increase of 3.4 percent for all of 2000. The index for energy, which registered double-digit increases in both 1999 and 2000, continued this pattern during the first five months of 2001, increasing at a 16.3-percent SAAR.

For the 12-month period ended in May 2001, the CPI-U increased 3.6 percent.

These data are a product of the BLS Consumer Price Index program. Find out more in Consumer Price Indexes, May 2001, news release USDL 01-175.