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

Consumer prices up 0.4 percent in September

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.4 percent in September, following a 0.1-percent increase in August.

[Chart data—TXT]

The energy index, which had declined in each of the preceding three months, turned up in September, advancing 2.6 percent. The index for petroleum-based energy rose 8.0 percent, more than offsetting a 2.2-percent decline in the index for energy services. The food index rose 0.2 percent in September, the same as in August. Excluding food and energy, the CPI-U rose 0.2 percent for the third consecutive month.

Consumer prices rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 0.7 percent in the third quarter. This followed increases in the first and second quarters at annual rates of 4.0 and 3.7 percent, respectively, and brings the year-to-date annual rate to 2.8 percent. This compares with an increase of 3.4 percent for all of 2000. 

For the 12-month period ended in September, the CPI-U increased 2.6 percent.

These data are a product of the BLS Consumer Price Index program. Find out more in Consumer Price Indexes, September 2001, news release USDL 01-353.