The Consumer Price Index increased 0.4% in December on a seasonally adjusted annual basis, after rising 0.3% in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 2.9% before seasonal adjustment.
The index for all items less food and energy, the “core CPI”, rose 0.2% in December, after rising 0.3% in November and 3.2% over the last 12 months.
The index for shelter increased 0.3% in December as it did in the last two months.
The index for food increased 0.3% in December, after rising 0.4% in November. The food at home index also rose 0.3% over the month. Four of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased in December. The index for cereals and bakery products rose 1.2% over the month, after falling 1.1% in November. The meats, poultry, fish, and eggs index increased 0.6% in December, as the eggs index rose 3.2%. The food away from home index rose 0.3% in December, as it did in November. The index for limited service meals rose 0.4% over the month and the index for full service meals rose 0.2%.
The energy index increased 2.6% in December, after rising 0.2% in November. The gasoline index increased 4.4% over the month. The natural gas index rose 2.4% over the month and the index for electricity rose 0.3% in December. The energy index decreased 0.5% over the past 12 months. The gasoline index fell 3.4% over this 12-month span and the fuel oil index fell 13.1% over that period. In contrast, the index for electricity increased 2.8% over the last 12 months and the index for natural gas rose 4.9%.
Read the BLS release.
