For Current And Historical Material In This — 2001-01-17

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) declined 0.1 percent in December, before seasonal adjustment, to a level of 174.0 (1982- 84=100), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. For the 12-month period ended in December, the CPI-U increased 3.4 percent. The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) also declined 0.1 percent in December, prior to seasonal adjustment. The December level of 170.7 was 3.4 percent higher than the index in December 1999. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-U rose 0.2 percent in December, the same as in each of the preceding two months. The food index advanced 0.5 percent in December, following a 0.1 percent increase in October and no change in November. The energy index rose 0.2 percent in December, following increases of 0.2 and 0.1 percent in October and November, respectively.