For Current And Historical Material In This — 2000-10-18

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.5 percent in September, before seasonal adjustment, to a level of 173.7 (1982-84=100), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. For the 12-month period ended in September, the CPI- U increased 3.5 percent. The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) rose 0.6 percent in September, prior to seasonal adjustment. The September level of 170.4 was 3.5 percent higher than the index in September 1999. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-U rose 0.5 percent in September, following a 0.1 percent decline in August. The upturn reflects a sharp turnaround in the energy index, which increased 3.8 percent in September after declining 2.9 percent in August. In September, the indexes for petroleum-based energy and for energy services increased 5.9 and 1.7 percent, respectively. The food index rose 0.2 percent.