For Current And Historical Material In This — 2001-03-21

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.4 percent in February, before seasonal adjustment, to a level of 175.8 (1982-84=100), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. For the 12-month period ended in February, the CPI- U increased 3.5 percent. The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) also rose 0.4 percent in February, prior to seasonal adjustment. The February level of 172.4 was 3.5 percent higher than the index in February 2000. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-U increased 0.3 percent in February, following a 0.6 percent rise in January. The energy index, which rose 3.9 percent in January and accounted for over one-half of the overall January CPI-U increase, declined 0.2 percent in February.