March 22, 2001 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Consumer prices rise 0.3 percent in February

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.3 percent in February, following a 0.6 percent rise in January.

[Chart data—TXT]

The energy index, which rose 3.9 percent in January and accounted for over one-half of the overall January CPI-U increase, declined 0.2 percent in February. The index for energy services fell 1.0 percent, largely as a result of a downturn in the index for utility natural gas—down 2.4 percent after increasing 17.4 percent in January. The index for petroleum-based energy rose 0.7 percent in February.

The food index, which rose 0.3 percent in January, increased 0.5 percent in February, reflecting a sharp turnaround in the index for fruits and vegetables. Excluding food and energy, the CPI-U rose 0.3 percent in February, the same as in January.

For the 12-month period ended in February, the CPI-U increased 3.5 percent.

These data are a product of the BLS Consumer Price Index program. Find out more in Consumer Price Indexes, February 2001, news release USDL 01-68.