April 17, 2002 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Consumer prices up 0.3 percent in March

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.3 percent in March, following increases of 0.2 percent in each of the first two months of 2002.

[Chart data—TXT]

The energy index, which declined 0.8 percent in February, advanced 3.8 percent in March. The index for petroleum-based energy increased 8.0 percent, and the index for energy services rose 0.2 percent. The food index rose 0.2 percent in March, the same as in February, reflecting another large increase in the index for fruits and vegetables.

Excluding food and energy, the CPI-U rose 0.1 percent in March after increasing 0.3 percent in February. A smaller increase in the index for shelter and a decline in the index for tobacco and smoking products accounted for the deceleration in March.

For the 12-month period ended in March, the CPI-U increased 1.5 percent.

These data are a product of the BLS Consumer Price Index program. Find out more in "Consumer Price Indexes, March 2002", news release USDL 02-222.