For Current And Historical Material In This — 2001-08-16

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) declined 0.3 percent in July, before seasonal adjustment, to a level of 177.5 (1982- 84=100), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. For the 12-month period ended in July, the CPI-U increased 2.7 percent. The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) declined 0.5 percent in July, prior to seasonal adjustment. The July level of 173.8 was 2.6 percent higher than the index in July 2000. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-U fell 0.3 percent in July, its first monthly decline since April 2000. The energy index--down 5.6 percent in July--recorded its largest drop since April 1986. The index for petroleum-based energy declined 10.3 percent and the index for energy services fell 1.0 percent. The food index, which increased 0.4 percent in June, rose 0.3 percent in July.