For Current And Historical Material In This — 2000-02-18

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.2 percent in January, before seasonal adjustment, to a level of 168.7 (1982-84=100), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. For the 12-month period ended in January, the CPI-U increased 2.7 percent. The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) also rose 0.2 percent in January, prior to seasonal adjustment. The January level of 165.5 was 2.8 percent higher than the index in January 1999. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-U rose 0.2 percent in January, the same as in each of the preceding three months. The food index declined 0.1 percent in January after registering small increases throughout most of 1999. The energy index continued to advance, up 1.0 percent in January. The index for petroleum-based energy increased 1.9 percent and the index for energy services rose 0.1 percent.