For Current And Historical Material In This — 1998-11-17

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.2 percent in October, before seasonal adjustment, to a level of 164.0 (1982- 84=100), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. For the 12-month period ended in October, the CPI-U has increased 1.5 percent. The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) also rose 0.2 percent in October, prior to seasonal adjustment. The October 1998 CPI-W level of 160.6 was 1.3 percent higher than the index in October 1997. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-U rose 0.2 percent in October, following no change in September. The October advance reflects upturns in the indexes for food and for energy. The food index, which was unchanged in September, rose 0.6 percent in October.