June 16, 2008 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

CPI in May 2008

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) advanced 0.6 percent in May 2008, following a 0.2-percent increase in April.

[Chart data—TXT]

The index for energy, which was virtually unchanged in April, increased 4.4 percent in May. The index for petroleum-based energy advanced 5.8 percent and the index for energy services rose 2.3 percent.

The food index rose 0.3 percent in May. The index for food at home, which advanced 1.5 percent in April, also increased 0.3 percent, as five of the six major grocery store food groups registered substantial deceleration.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.2 percent in May, following a 0.1-percent rise in April. Upturns in the indexes for lodging away from home, for public transportation, and for household furnishings and operations more than offset a downturn in the index for apparel.

For the 12 months ended in May 2008, the CPI-U rose 4.2 percent, as shown in the chart.

These data are from the BLS Consumer Price Index program. To learn more, see "Consumer Price Index: May 2008," (PDF) (HTML) news release USDL 08-0790.