October 19, 2006 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

CPI in September 2006

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) declined 0.5 percent in September, following an increase of 0.2 percent in August.

[Chart data—TXT]

Energy prices, which rose 0.3 percent in August, declined 7.2 percent in September. Within energy, the index for petroleum based energy decreased 12.9 percent, while the index for energy services rose 1.2 percent.

The food index increased 0.3 percent in September. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent in September, the same as in August. Increases in the shelter and apparel components accounted for over 80 percent of the September advance.

Consumer prices increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 0.8 percent in the third quarter of 2006, following increases in the first and second quarters at annual rates of 4.3 and 5.1 percent, respectively. This brings the year-to-date annual rate to 3.4 percent, the same as for all of 2005.

For the 12 months ended in September 2006, the CPI-U rose 2.1 percent, as shown in the chart.

These data are from the BLS Consumer Price Index program. To learn more, see "Consumer Price Index: September 2006" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 06-1814.