March 24, 2005 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

CPI up 0.4 percent in February 2005

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) advanced 0.4 percent in February 2005, following a 0.1-percent increase in January.

[Chart data—TXT]

The energy index, which registered substantial declines in the preceding two months, increased 2.0 percent in February, accounting for virtually all the acceleration in the overall CPI-U. Within energy, the index for petroleum-based energy increased 3.1 percent and the index for energy services rose 0.8 percent.

The food index increased 0.1 percent February, the same as in January. A 0.2-percent decrease in the index for food at home was more than offset by a 0.3-percent increase in the index for food away from home.

The index for all items less food and energy, which increased 0.2 percent in each of the preceding four months, advanced 0.3 percent in February.

For the 12-month period ended in February 2005, the CPI-U rose 3.0 percent, as shown in the chart.

These data are from the BLS Consumer Price Index program. For more information, see "Consumer Price Index: February 2005" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 05-484.