The Consumer Price Index increased 0.4% in February on a seasonally adjusted basis, after rising 0.3% in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 3.2% before seasonal adjustment.
Prices for all items less food and energy, the “core CPI,” rose 0.4% in February, as it did in January.
The index for shelter rose in February, increasing 0.4% and contributing over sixty percent of the monthly increase in the index for all items. The shelter index increased 0.6% the previous month.
The food index was unchanged in February, as was the food at home index. Both of these indexes had risen 0.4% in January. Three of the six major grocery store good group indexes decreased over the month. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs index increased over the month, rising 0.1%. The food away from home index rose 0.1% in February, after rising 0.5% in January.
The energy index rose 2.3% in February, after declining 0.9% in January. The gasoline index increased 3.8% in February, following a 3.3% decline in the previous month. The fuel oil index increased 1.1% in February, following a 4.5% decline in January. The index for natural gas and electricity rose 2.3% and 0.3% over the month, respectively. Despite the monthly increase, the energy index fell 1.9% over the year. The gasoline index decreased 3.9%, the natural gas index declined 8.8%, and the fuel oil index fell 5.4% in the past year. Meanwhile, the index for electricity rose 3.6% over the last year.
Read the BLS release.
