June 16, 2004 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

CPI up 0.6 percent in May

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.6 percent in May, following a 0.2-percent increase in April.

[Chart data—TXT]

Energy costs advanced sharply in May—up 4.6 percent. Within energy, the index for petroleum-based energy increased 7.7 percent and the index for energy services increased 1.1 percent.

The index for food rose 0.9 percent in May, following increases of 0.2 percent in each of the three preceding months. The index for all items less food and energy, which increased 0.3 percent in April, rose 0.2 percent in May.

During the first five months of 2004, the CPI-U rose at a 5.1-percent seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). This compares with an increase of 1.9 percent for all of 2003. The index for energy, which increased 6.9 percent in 2003, increased at a 35.9-percent SAAR in the first five months of 2004. The food index has increased at a 3.4-percent SAAR thus far this year, compared with an increase of 3.6 percent for all of 2003. Excluding food and energy, the CPI-U advanced at a 2.9-percent SAAR in the first five months, following a 1.1-percent rise in all of 2003.

For the 12-month period ended in May, the CPI-U rose 3.1 percent, as shown in the chart.

These data are from the BLS Consumer Price Index program. For more information, see Consumer Price Index: May 2004 (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 04-1069.