September 19, 2001 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Consumer prices inch up in August

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.1 percent in August, following a 0.3-percent decline in July.

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

The energy index declined for the third consecutive month—down 1.9-percent in August, following a 5.6-percent drop in July. In August, the index for petroleum-based energy declined 2.4 percent and the index for energy services fell 1.4 percent. The food index, which increased 0.3 percent in July, rose 0.2 percent in August. Excluding food and energy, the CPI-U rose 0.2 percent, the same as in July.

For the 12-month period ended in August 2001, the CPI-U increased 2.7 percent.

These data are a product of the BLS Consumer Price Index program. Find out more in Consumer Price Indexes, August 2001, news release USDL 01-304.