February 21, 2008 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

CPI in January 2008

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.4 percent in January.

Percent change from 12 months ago, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, not seasonally adjusted, January 1999-January 2008
[Chart data—TXT]

The indexes for food and for energy each advanced 0.7 percent, following increases in December of 0.1 and 1.7 percent, respectively.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent, following increases of 0.2 percent in each of the preceding nine months. The January advance reflects larger increases than in December in the indexes for apparel, for medical care, for recreation, for education and communication, and for other goods and services.

For the 12 months ended in January 2008, the CPI-U rose 4.3 percent, as shown in the chart.

These data are from the BLS Consumer Price Index program. To learn more, see "Consumer Price Index: January 2008" (PDF) (HTML), news release USDL 08-0228.