September 17, 2008 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

CPI in August 2008

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) decreased 0.1 percent in August, following a 0.8-percent increase in July. The index for energy fell 3.1 percent in August after three consecutive sharp increases.

[Chart data—TXT]

The food index advanced 0.6 percent in August after rising 0.9 percent in July. The index for food at home rose 0.8 percent in August after a 1.2-percent increase in July and is up 7.5 percent over the past year.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.2 percent in August after increasing 0.3 percent in July.

For the 12 months ended in August 2008, the CPI-U rose 5.4 percent, as shown in the chart.

These data are from the BLS Consumer Price Index program. To learn more, see "Consumer Price Index: August 2008," (PDF) (HTML) news release USDL 08-1308.