Consumer prices increase 1.2 percent in 12 months

Over the last 12 months, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 1.2 percent before seasonal adjustment. Over the past year, the index for all items less food and energy has risen 0.6 percent, the smallest 12-month increase in the history of the index, which dates back to 1957.

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Within the index for all items less food and energy, several transportation indexes have increased; the index for used cars and trucks has risen 8.6 percent, while the new vehicles index has edged up 0.4 percent, and the index for airline fares has risen 4.4 percent. The medical care index has also increased, rising 3.4 percent. Indexes that have declined over the past year include shelter, which has fallen 0.3 percent, household furnishings and operations (down 2.5 percent), apparel (down 1.2 percent), and recreation (down 1.0 percent).

The food index has risen 1.4 percent, with both the food at home index and food away from home index rising the same 1.4 percent. Over the past year, the indexes for cereals and bakery products and for nonalcoholic beverages have declined, while the index for other food at home was unchanged and the indexes for the remaining three groups have risen.

The energy index has risen 5.9 percent over that span with the gasoline index up 9.5 percent. The indexes of all the major energy components have risen over the last 12 months.

These data are from the Consumer Price Index program. To learn more, see "Consumer Price Index — October 2010" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-10-1600.