For Current And Historical This Release Is Embargoed — 1996-12-12

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.2 percent before seasonal adjustment in November to a level of 158.6 (1982-84=100), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. For the 12-month period ended in November, the CPI-U increased 3.3 percent. The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) rose 0.3 percent in November, prior to seasonal adjustment. The November 1996 CPI-W level of 155.9 was 3.3 percent higher than the index in November 1995. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.3 percent in November, the same as in each of the two preceding months. The food index increased 0.3 percent in November after advancing 0.6 percent in October. Substantially smaller increases in the indexes for dairy products and for fruits and vegetables were responsible for the moderation.