For Current And Historical Material In This — 2002-04-16

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.6 percent in March, before seasonal adjustment, to a level of 178.8 (1982- 84=100), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. For the 12-month period ended in March, the CPI-U increased 1.5 percent. The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) also increased 0.6 percent in March, prior to seasonal adjustment. The March level of 174.7 was 1.2 percent higher than the index in March 2001. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-U increased 0.3 percent in March, following increases of 0.2 percent in each of the first two months of 2002. The energy index, which declined 0.8 percent in February, advanced 3.8 percent in March. The index for petroleum-based energy increased 8.0 percent, and the index for energy services rose 0.2 percent.