The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.2 percent in September, before seasonal adjustment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The September level of 189.9 (1982-84=100) was 2.5 percent higher than in September 2003.
The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) also increased 0.2 percent in September, prior to seasonal adjustment. The September level of 185.4 was 2.4 percent higher than in September 2003.
The Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U) increased 0.3 percent in September on a not seasonally adjusted basis. The September level of 110.6 (December 1999=100) was 2.1 percent higher than in September 2003. Please note that the indexes for the post-2002 period are subject to revision.
CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U)
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-U increased 0.2 percent in September, following a 0.1 percent increase in August. Energy costs declined for the third consecutive month--down 0.4 percent in September--after advancing sharply in the first half of the year. Within energy, the index for household fuels decreased 0.9 percent, while the index for motor fuel rose 0.1 percent. The index for food was unchanged in September, as a 0.2 percent decline in the index for food at home was offset by a 0.3 percent increase in the index for food away from home. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.3 percent in September, following increases of 0.1 percent in each of the preceding three months. While each of the non-food major groups, including the non-energy portions of housing and transportation, contributed to the larger advance in September, the sharp upturn in the lodging away from home component accounted for about three-fourths of the acceleration in the index for all items excluding food and energy.Consumer prices increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 0.6 percent in the third quarter of 2004, following increases in the first and second quarters at annual rates of 5.1 and 4.8 percent, respectively. This brings the year-to-date annual rate to 3.5 percent and compares with an increase of 1.9 percent in all of 2003. The index for energy, which advanced at annual rates of 38.6 and 33.5 percent in the first two quarters, declined at a 9.8 percent rate in the third quarter of 2004. Thus far this year, energy costs have risen at an 18.6 percent SAAR after increasing 6.9 percent in all of 2003. In the first nine months of 2003, petroleum-based energy costs increased at a 31.7 percent rate and charges for energy services increased at a 6.2 percent rate. The food index rose at a 2.6 percent SAAR in the first nine months of 2004. The index for grocery store food prices increased at a 1.9 percent rate. Among the six major grocery store food groups, the index for dairy products registered the largest increase during this span--up at a 7.3 percent rate--although it declined in each month during the third quarter. The index for fruits and vegetables recorded the largest decline--down at a 0.8 percent annual rate.
The CPI-U excluding food and energy advanced at a 1.8 percent SAAR in the third quarter, following increases at rates of 2.9 and 2.3 percent in the first two quarters of 2004. The advance at a 2.3 percent SAAR for the first nine months of 2004 compares with a 1.1 percent rise in all of 2003. With the exception of the recreation component, each of the major groups--including alcoholic beverages and the non-energy portion of the housing and transportation groups--advanced at a faster rate in the first 9 months of 2004 than in all of 2003. Most of the overall acceleration, however, was accounted for by a larger increase in the indexes for shelter, an upturn in the index for new and used vehicles, and a smaller decline in the index for apparel.
