For Current And Historical This Release Is Embargoed — 1996-04-12

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.5 percent before seasonal adjustment in March to a level of 155.7 (1982-84=100), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. For the 12-month period ended in March, the CPI-U increased 2.8 percent. The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) also rose 0.5 percent in March, prior to seasonal adjustment. The March 1996 CPI-W level of 152.9 was 2.8 percent higher than the index in March 1995. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-U rose 0.4 percent in March, following increases of 0.4 and 0.2 percent in the first 2 months of 1996. Each of the three groups--food, energy, and all items less food and energy--contributed to the larger advance in March. The food index, which had risen 0.1 percent in each of the 3 preceding months, increased 0.6 percent in March.