The Consumer Price Index increased 0.5% in January on a seasonally adjusted annual basis, after rising 0.4% in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 3.0% before seasonal adjustment.
The index for all items less food and energy, the “core CPI”, rose 0.4% in January, after rising 0.2% in December and 3.3% over the last 12 months.
The index for shelter rose 0.4% in January, accounting for nearly 30% of the monthly all items increase. The index for owners’ equivalent rent rose 0.3% in January, as did the index for rent. The lodging away from home index increased 1.4% in January.
The index for food increased 0.4% in January. The food at home index rose 0.5% over the month as four of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs rose 1.9% over the month, as the index for eggs increased 15.2%. This was the largest increase in the eggs index since June 2015 and it accounted for about two thirds of the total monthly food at home increase. The food away from home index rose 0.2% in January. The index for limited service meals rose 0.3% over the month and the index for full service meals rose 0.1%.
The energy index increased 1.1% in January, after rising 2.6% in December. The gasoline index increased 1.8% over the month. The natural gas index rose 1.8% over the month while the index for electricity remained unchanged in January. The energy index increased 1.0% over the past 12 months. The gasoline index edged down 0.2% over this 12-month span and the fuel oil index fell 5.3% over that period. In contrast, the index for electricity increased 1.9% over the last 12 months and the index for natural gas rose 4.9%.
Read the BLS release.
