October 19, 2000 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Consumer prices in September

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.5 percent in September, following a 0.1 percent decline in August. For the 12-month period ended in September, the CPI-U increased 3.5 percent.

 

Percent change from 12 months ago, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, not seasonally adjusted, September 1991-September 2000
[Chart data—TXT]

The September upturn in the CPI-U reflects a sharp turnaround in the energy index, which increased 3.8 percent in September after declining 2.9 percent in August. The food index rose 0.2 percent in September. Excluding food and energy, the CPI-U rose 0.3 percent in September, following five consecutive monthly increases of 0.2 percent.

Consumer prices rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 2.8 percent in the third quarter. This followed increases in the first and second quarters at annual rates of 6.1 and 2.6 percent rate, respectively, and brings the year-to-date annual rate to 3.8 percent. This compares with an increase of 2.7 percent for all of 1999.

These data are a product of the BLS Consumer Price Index program. Find out more in Consumer Price Indexes, September 2000, news release USDL 00-299.

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