February 24, 2003 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Consumer prices in January

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.3 percent in January, following increases of 0.1 percent each of the preceding two months.

[Chart data—TXT]

Energy costs, which declined in November and December, increased 4.0 percent in January. Within energy, the index for petroleum-based energy advanced 6.6 percent and the index for energy services increased 1.5 percent. 

Meanwhile, the indexes for food and for all items less food and energy decelerated in January. The index for food declined 0.2 percent, following increases of 0.2 percent in each of the preceding two months. The index for all items less food and energy, which increased 0.2 percent in December, rose 0.1 percent in January. A smaller increase in the index for medical care, coupled with declines in the indexes for apparel and public transportation, accounted for the smaller advance in January.

For the 12-month period ended in January, the CPI-U rose 2.6 percent. 

These data are from the BLS Consumer Price Index program.  Find out more in "Consumer Price Indexes, January 2003" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 03-82.