CPI-U

CPI Jumps 0.5% on Higher Gas Prices for June 2013

The June Consumer Price Index increased 0.5% from May.  CPI measures inflation, or price increases.  This is the largest monthly CPI increase since February where inflation rose 0.7%. The culprit this time is gasoline, which caused two thirds of the increase in CPI and by itself rose 6.3%.  Take food and energy items out of the index and core inflation rose 0.2% from May.

 

CPI Increases 0.1% on Rent, Prescription Drug Prices Drop for May 2013

The May Consumer Price Index increased 0.1% from April.  CPI measures inflation, or price increases.  The culprit this time isn't gasoline, but shelter, which increased 0.3% for the month.  This is the largest monthly increase in the shelter index since July 2011 and was responsible for half of the overall 0.1% inflation monthly increase.  Take food and energy items out of the index and CPI actually rose 0.2% from April.  Shelter is part of this figure.

CPI Shows Inflation Dropped -0.4% on Volatile Gas Prices in April 2013

The April Consumer Price Index dropped -0.4% from March.  CPI measures inflation, or price increases.  The culprit is gas prices again, which plunged -8.1% for the month.  This is the biggest monthly decline in overall CPI since December 2008, when the economy was at risk of a deflationary spiral.  Take food and energy items out of the index and CPI actually rose 0.1% from March, so once again volatile retail gasoline prices are wreaking havoc in the overall consumer price index, as well as consumer's monthly budgets.

CPI Jumps 0.7% on High Gas Prices for February 2013

The February Consumer Price Index jumped 0.7% from January.  CPI measures inflation, or price increases.  The culprit is gas prices again, which skyrocketed 9.1% for the month and is 75% of the monthly increase.  This is the biggest monthly jump in CPI since June 2009.    Take food and energy items out of the index and CPI actually rose 0.2% from January.

Consumer Price Index Declines 0.3% on Falling Gas Prices for November 2012

The November Consumer Price Index decreased -0.3% from October. CPI measures inflation, or price increases. The culprit is gas prices. The gasoline index declined by -7.4%, the largest decline in gas prices since December 2008. The dramatic drop in gas prices offset inflation in other areas for the month which resulted in a decline not seen since May 2012 Below are CPI's monthly percentage changes.

CPI Increases 0.1% for October 2012 - Increasing Rent Drives Consumer Price Index

The October Consumer Price Index increased 0.1% from September. CPI measures inflation, or price increases. This month the culprit isn't gas prices, the gasoline index declined by -0.6% after July through September's meteoric 16.6% rise. The problem is the cost to rent a place to live increased 0.4% and had the highest monthly jump since June 2008.

CPI increased 0.6% for September 2012

The September Consumer Price Index increased 0.6% from August. The CPI measures inflation. This is the second month in a row for CPI to increase 0.6% and these jumps are the largest since June 2009. The reason again is gas with a 7.0% increase in the gasoline index for September and August's CPI jump was also caused by gas at the pump with a 9.0% increase in gasoline prices.

Consumer Price Index Increases 0.6% for August 2012

The August Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation, increased 0.6% from July. This is the largest monthly increase since June 2009 and the reason for the jump is 80% gasoline prices. The CPI gasoline index increased a whopping 9.0% in a month. When removing food and energy inflation, of which gasoline is a part, core inflation increased 0.1% for August. Below is CPI's monthly percentage change.

 

 

CPI is up 1.7% from a year ago, shown in the below graph.

 

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