February 23, 2009 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

CPI in January 2009

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.3 percent in January after declining in each of the three previous months.

[Chart data—TXT]

The energy index climbed 1.7 percent in January, its first increase in six months, but it was still 31.4 percent below its July 2008 peak level. Within energy, the gasoline index rose 6.0 percent in January after a 19.3-percent decline in December.

The food index, which rose sharply during the summer and moderated through the fall, increased 0.1 percent in January after being virtually unchanged in December. The food index has risen 5.3 percent over the past year. The food at home index declined 0.1 percent in January as the fruits and vegetables index continued to fall.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent in January after being virtually unchanged in December. Contributing to the increase were larger advances in the indexes for rent and owners equivalent rent and upturns in the indexes for new vehicles and apparel.

For the 12-month period ending in January 2009, the percent change in the CPI-U was 0.0 percent.

These data are from the BLS Consumer Price Index program. To learn more, see "Consumer Price Index: January 2009," (PDF) (HTML) news release USDL 09-0171.