September 19, 2002 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Consumer prices in August

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

[Chart data—TXT]

Larger increases in the indexes for energy and all items less food and energy more than offset a downturn in the food index. The index for food, which rose 0.2 percent in July, declined 0.1 percent in August. The index for food at home declined 0.3 percent as five of the six grocery store food groups registered declines. 

Energy costs advanced for the second consecutive month—up 0.6 percent in August. Within energy, the index for petroleum-based energy rose 0.8 percent and the index for energy services increased 0.4 percent. Excluding food and energy, the CPI-U rose 0.3 percent after increasing 0.2 percent in July.

During the first eight months of 2002, the CPI-U rose at a 2.7 percent seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). This compares with an increase of 1.6 percent for all of 2001.

For the 12-month period ended in August, the CPI-U increased 1.8 percent.

These data are a product of the BLS Consumer Price Index program.  Find out more in "Consumer Price Indexes, August 2002" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 02-519.