February 23, 2004 (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) increased 0.5 percent in January, following an increase of 0.2 percent in December.

[Chart data—TXT]

Energy costs, which rose 0.3 percent in December, advanced 4.7 percent in January, accounting for over three-fourths of the overall January increase. Within energy, the index for petroleum-based energy advanced 8.0 percent and the index for energy services rose 1.6 percent.

The index for food was unchanged in January. The index for food at home declined 0.3 percent, reflecting decreases in the indexes for fruits and vegetables and for beef. The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.2 percent in January, following a 0.1-percent rise in December.

The index for housing increased 0.4 percent in January, following a 0.2-percent rise in December. Larger increases in fuel prices, coupled with an upturn in the index for household furnishings and operations, more than offset a smaller increase in shelter costs.

The transportation index, which recorded declines in each of the preceding three months, increased 1.7 percent in January. The index for gasoline increased 8.1 percent, accounting for over 90 percent of the January transportation advance.

For the 12-month period ended in January, the CPI-U rose 1.9 percent, as shown in the chart.

These data are from the BLS Consumer Price Index program. For more information, see Consumer Price Index: January 2004 (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 04-261.