For Current And Historical Material In This Release Is — 1998-05-14

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.2 percent in April, before seasonal adjustment, to a level of 162.5 (1982- 84=100), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. For the 12-month period ended in April, the CPI-U has increased 1.4 percent. The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) rose 0.3 percent in April, prior to seasonal adjustment. The April 1998 CPI-W level of 159.1 was 1.2 percent higher than the index in April 1997. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-U rose 0.2 percent in April after being unchanged in March. The food index increased 0.1 percent. Grocery store food prices decreased 0.1 percent in April, the same as in each of the two preceding months. The energy index declined slightly, and by substantially less than in each of the previous four months.