CPI for all items unchanged in July; gasoline index falls, shelter index rises again
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Economic News Release USDL-16-1684
Consumer Price Index Summary
Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until 8:30 a.m. (EDT) August 16, 2016
Technical information: (202) 691-7000 Reed.Steve@bls.gov www.bls.gov/cpi
Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 PressOffice@bls.gov
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX – JULY 2016
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) was unchanged in July on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index rose 0.8 percent before seasonal adjustment.
The energy index declined in July and the food index was unchanged. The index for all items less food and energy rose, but posted its smallest increase since March. As a result, the all items index was unchanged after rising in each of the 4 previous months.
....
Not seasonally adjusted CPI measures
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.8 percent over the last 12 months to an index level of 240.647 (1982-84=100). For the month, the index decreased 0.2 percent prior to seasonal adjustment.
The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) increased 0.4 percent over the last 12 months to an index level of 234.789 (1982-84=100). For the month, the index decreased 0.2 percent prior to seasonal adjustment.
The Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U) increased 0.5 percent over the last 12 months. For the month, the index fell 0.2 percent on a not seasonally adjusted basis. Please note that the indexes for the past 10 to 12 months are subject to revision.
The Consumer Price Index for August 2016 is scheduled to be released on Friday, September 16, 2016, at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).
Read more: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm
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Previously at DU:
CPI for May 2016: CPI for all items increases 0.2% in May as energy, shelter increases outweigh food decline
CPI for April 2016: CPI for all items increases 0.4% as gasoline, shelter, food indexes rise
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in prices over time of goods and services purchased by households. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which covers households of wage earners and clerical workers that comprise approximately 28 percent of the total population and (2) the CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) and the Chained CPI for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U), which covers approximately 89 percent of the total population and includes, in addition to wage earners and clerical worker households, groups such as professional, managerial, and technical workers, the self-employed, short-term workers, the unemployed, and retirees and others not in the labor force.....
For further details visit the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi/ or contact our CPI Information and Analysis Section on (202) 691-7000.
Read more: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm
Not all CPI's are alike. For an earlier discussion at DU about that, see:
CPI for all items falls 0.1% in December as energy and food indexes decline
and
CPI for all items rises 0.2% as gasoline and shelter prices rise; food prices decline
From the zeroeth post:
Cryptoad points out the significance of the CPI-W. It is used to calculate Social Security's Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA):
Consumer Price Index Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What goods and services does the CPI cover?
FOOD AND BEVERAGES (breakfast cereal, milk, coffee, chicken, wine, full service meals, snacks)
HOUSING (rent of primary residence, owners' equivalent rent, fuel oil, bedroom furniture)
APPAREL (men's shirts and sweaters, women's dresses, jewelry)
TRANSPORTATION (new vehicles, airline fares, gasoline, motor vehicle insurance)
MEDICAL CARE (prescription drugs and medical supplies, physicians' services, eyeglasses and eye care, hospital services)
RECREATION (televisions, toys, pets and pet products, sports equipment, admissions);
EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION (college tuition, postage, telephone services, computer software and accessories);
OTHER GOODS AND SERVICES (tobacco and smoking products, haircuts and other personal services, funeral expenses).
The CPI-U is used by the Treasury Department to set the interest rates on I Bonds.
I Savings Bonds
Interest on an I Bond rates is a combination of two rates:
1.A fixed rate of return which remains the same throughout the life of the I Bond
and
2.A variable inflation rate which we calculate twice a year, based on changes in the nonseasonally adjusted Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for all items, including food and energy (CPI-U for March compared with the CPI-U for September of the same year, and then CPI-U for September compared with the CPI-U for March of the following year).
In specific, there is a discussion of the Cost of Living Index here:
Let's look at that.
The CPI-W is discussed here:
CPI-W methodology
