Commenter R.J.S. Discuses CPI Rising led by Food, Energy, and Medical The consumer price index rose 0.4% in February, as higher prices for fuel, groceries, utilities, and medical services were only partly offset by lower prices for clothing, used vehicles, and airline fares…the Consumer Price Index Summary from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that seasonally adjusted prices averaged 0.4% higher in February, after rising by 0.3% in January, 0.2% in December, 0.2% in November, 0.1% in October, 0.2% in September, 0.4% in August, by 0.5% in July and by 0.5% in June, after falling by 0.1% in May, falling by 0.7% in April and by 0.3% in March, but after rising by 0.1% in February of last year….the unadjusted CPI-U index, which was set with
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Commenter R.J.S. Discuses CPI Rising led by Food, Energy, and Medical
The consumer price index rose 0.4% in February, as higher prices for fuel, groceries, utilities, and medical services were only partly offset by lower prices for clothing, used vehicles, and airline fares…the Consumer Price Index Summary from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that seasonally adjusted prices averaged 0.4% higher in February, after rising by 0.3% in January, 0.2% in December, 0.2% in November, 0.1% in October, 0.2% in September, 0.4% in August, by 0.5% in July and by 0.5% in June, after falling by 0.1% in May, falling by 0.7% in April and by 0.3% in March, but after rising by 0.1% in February of last year….the unadjusted CPI-U index, which was set with prices of the 1982 to 1984 period equal to 100, rose from 261.582 in January to 263.014 in February, which left it statistically 1.6762% higher than the 258.678 reading of February of last year, which is reported as a 1.7% year over year increase, up from the 1.4% year over year increase reported a month ago….with higher prices for energy and foods both factors in the overall index increase, seasonally adjusted core prices, which exclude food and energy, were up just 0.1% for the month, as the unadjusted core price index rose from 269.755 to 270.696, which left the core index 1.2826% ahead of its year ago reading of 267.268, which is reported as a 1.3% year over year increase, down from the 1.4% year over year core price increase that was reported for January and the 1.6% the year over year core price increase that was reported for December…
The volatile seasonally adjusted energy price index rose 3.9% in February, after rising by 3.5% in January, 2.6% in December, 0.7% in November, 0.6% in October, 1.4% in September, 0.9% in August, 2.1% in July, and by 4.4% in June, but after falling by 2.3% in May, by 9.5% in April, 5.8% in March, and by 2.5% last February, and hence is only 2.4% higher than in February a year ago…the price index for energy commodities was 6.6% higher in February, while the index for energy services was 0.9% higher, after falling 0.3% in January….the energy commodity index was up 6.6% on a 6.4% increase in the price of gasoline and a 9.9% increase in the index for fuel oil, while prices for other energy commodities, including propane, kerosene, and firewood, were on average 7.3% higher…within energy services, the price index for utility gas service rose 1.6% after falling 0.4% in January and is now 6.7% higher than it was a year ago, while the electricity price index rose 0.7% after falling 0.2% in January….energy commodities are now averaging 1.6% higher than their year ago levels, with gasoline price averaging 1.5% higher than they were a year ago, while the energy services price index is now up 3.2% from last February, as electricity prices are also 2.3% higher than a year ago…
The seasonally adjusted food price index rose 0.2% in February, after rising by 0.1% in January and 0.3% in December, after being unchanged in November, rising 0.2% in October, rising 0.1% in August and in September, after falling 0.3% in July, rising 0.5% in June, 0.7% in May, 1.4% in April, 0.3% in March, and by 0.3% last February, as the price index for food purchased for use at home was 0.3% higher in January, after falling 0.1% in January, while the index for food bought to eat away from home was 0.1% higher, as average prices at fast food outlets rose 0.4% and prices at full service restaurants rose 0.3%, while food prices at employee sites and schools averaged 12.2% lower…notably, the price index for food at elementary and secondary schools was down 13.7% and is now down 32.5% from a year ago…
In the food at home categories, the price index for cereals and bakery products was 0.3% higher even as average bread prices fell 0.2%, as the price index for fresh biscuits, rolls, muffins rose 2.0%, the price index for crackers and bread and cracker products rose 2.3% and the price index for frozen and refrigerated bakery products, pies, tarts, and turnovers rose 1.9%….the price index for the meats, poultry, fish, and eggs food group was also 0.3% higher as the price index for beef and veal rose 0.4%, the price index for pork rose 1.0%, the price index for fresh fish and seafood rose 0.7%, and egg prices rose 2.2%…on the other hand, the seasonally adjusted price index for dairy products was 0.2% lower, as whole milk prices fell 1.4% and the price index for cheese and related products was 0.5% lower….however, the fruits and vegetables price index was 0.7% higher as the price index for fresh fruits rose 1.8% and tomato prices rose 1.6%….meanwhile, the beverages price index was 0.1% lower as the price index for carbonated drinks fell 0.5% and the price index for coffee fell 0.4%….lastly, the price index for the ‘other foods at home’ category was 0.1% higher, as the price index for sugar and sugar substitutesrose 0.9%, the price index for margarine rose 2.8%, the price index for snacks rose 1.7%, and the price index for olives, pickles and relishes rose 1.8%…the itemized list for price changes of over 100 separate food items is included at the beginning of Table 2 for this release, which also gives us a line item breakdown for prices of more than 200 CPI items overall…since last February, there are no food line items showing a price change greater than 10% over the past year…
Among the seasonally adjusted core components of the CPI, which rose 0.1% in February after being unchanged in January and December, after rising by 0.2% in November, by 0.1% in October, by 0.2% in September, by 0.3% in August, by 0.5% in July and by 0.2% in June, after falling by 0.1% in May, by 0.4% in April and being unchanged in March, but after rising by 0.2% last February, the composite price index of all goods less food and energy goods was 0.2% lower in February, while the more heavily weighted composite for all services less energy services was 0.2% higher….
Among the goods components, which will be used by the Bureau of Economic Analysis to adjust February’s retail sales for inflation in national accounts data, the price index for household furnishings and supplies was 0.1% lower even as the price index for appliances rose 1.9%, as the price index for bedroom furniture fell 1.4%, the price index for window coverings fell 1.2%, and the price index for housekeeping supplies fell 1.4%….meanwhile, the apparel price index was 0.7% lower on a 5.4% decrease in the price index for men’s shirts and sweaters, a 4.9% decrease in the price index for women’s dresses, a 2.3% decrease in the price index for girls’ apparel, and a 2.0% decrease in the price index for boys’ apparel….at the same time, the price index for transportation commodities other than fuel was 0.4% lower as prices for new cars were unchanged, prices for used cars and trucks fell 0.9%, and the price index for vehicle parts and equipment other than tires was 0.8% lower…meanwhile, the price index for medical care commodities 0.7% lower, as prescription drug prices fell 0.7% and nonprescription drug prices fell 0.6% while the price index for medical equipment and supplies rose 0.4%…on the other hand, the recreational commodities index was 0.5% higher on a 1.3% increase in TV prices, a 2.0% increase in the price index for sports vehicles including bicycles, a 1.1% increase in the price index for photographic equipment and supplies, and a 2.3% increase in the price index for sewing machines, fabric and supplies…however, the education and communication commodities index was 0.2% lower on a 1.8% decrease in the price index for telephone hardware, calculators, and other consumer information items and a 0.4% decrease in the price index for computer software and accessories….lastly, a separate price index for alcoholic beverages was 0.1% higher, while the price index for ‘other goods’ was up 0.3% on a 0.3% increase in the price index for Cosmetics, perfume, bath, nail preparations and implements and a 0.7% increase in cigarette prices…
Within core services, the price index for shelter was 0.2% higher as rents rose 0.2% and homeowner’s equivalent rent was 0.3% higher, while prices for lodging away from home at hotels and motels fell 2.7%, while at the same time the shelter sub-index for water, sewers and trash collection rose 0.4% and other household operation costs were on average 0.3% higher on a 0.8% increase in the price index for repair of household items and a 0.7% increase in moving, storage, freight expense….meanwhile, the price index for medical care services was 0.5% higher, as the price index for physicians’ services rose 2.0% and the price index for Eyeglasses and eye care rose 0.5%….on the other hand, the transportation services price index was 0.1% lower even though car and truck rentals rose 7.4% and the price index for intracity mass transit rose 4.3% because as airline fares fell 5.1%…however, the recreation services price index rose 0.6% as the index for video discs and other media, including rentals rose 2.9% and the price index for admissions to sporting events rose 4.9%…. at the same time, the index for education and communication services was 0.1% higher as the price index delivery services rose 0.8% and the price index for land-line telephone services rose 1.0%…lastly, the index for other personal services was up 0.5% as the price index for checking accounts and other bank services rose 4.0% while the price index for funeral expenses was 0.6% higher…
Among core line items, the price index for telephone hardware, calculators, and other consumer information items, which is now down by 17.9% since last January, the price index for men’s suits, sport coats, and outerwear, which is now down 16.8% from a year ago, the price index for women’s dresses, which has also fallen by 16.8% in the past year, the price index for checking account and other bank services, which is down by 10.3% from a year ago, the price index for lodging away from home including hotels and motels, which has fallen by 17.2% in the past year, the price index for admission to sporting events, which is still down by 14.1% from a year ago, and airline fares, which are now down by 25.6% since last February, have all seen prices drop by more than 10% over the past year, while the price index for car and truck rental, which has risen 11.5% from a year ago, and the price index for laundry equipment, which is up 24.3% from last February, are the only line items to have increased by a double digit magnitude over that span….