For Current And Historical Material In This — 2001-11-16

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) declined 0.3 percent in October, before seasonal adjustment, to a level of 177.7 (1982- 84=100), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. For the 12-month period ended in October, the CPI-U increased 2.1 percent. The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) decreased 0.5 percent in October, prior to seasonal adjustment. The October level of 174.0 was 2.0 percent higher than the index in October 2000. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-U declined 0.3 percent in October after increasing 0.4 percent in September. The energy index, which rose 2.6 percent in September, fell 6.3 percent in October. The index for petroleum-based energy declined 10.2 percent and the index for energy services fell 2.5 percent. The food index rose 0.5 percent in October, following a 0.2 percent rise in September.