May 17, 2001 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Consumer prices up 0.3 percent in April

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.3 percent in April, following an increase of 0.1 percent in March.

Percent change from 12 months ago, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, not seasonally adjusted, April 1992-April 2001
[Chart data—TXT]

The energy index, which had declined in each of the two preceding months, increased 1.8 percent in April. The index for petroleum-based energy increased 4.2 percent, more than offsetting a 0.4-percent decline in the index for energy services.

The food index increased 0.1 percent in April, following a 0.2-percent rise in March. Excluding food and energy, the CPI-U rose 0.2 percent in April, the same as in March.

For the 12-month period ended in April, the CPI-U increased 3.3 percent.

These data are a product of the BLS Consumer Price Index program. Find out more in Consumer Price Indexes, April 2001, news release USDL 01-142.