For Current And Historical Until 8:30 A.M. (Est) — 1994-03-16

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.3 percent before seasonal adjustment in February to a level of 146.7 (1982-84=100), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. For the 12-month period ended in February, the CPI-U increased 2.5 percent. The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) increased 0.3 percent in February, prior to seasonal adjustment. The February 1994 CPI-W level of 144.0 was 2.3 percent higher than the index in February 1993. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-U rose 0.3 percent in February after registering no change in January. The energy index, which had risen only once in the preceding 9 months, increased 1.6 percent in February, largely as a result of a sharp upturn in petroleum-based energy prices.