Consumer prices rise 0.2 percent in July

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.2 percent in July after increasing 0.5 percent in June. For the 12-month period ended in July, the CPI-U increased 3.7 percent.

[Chart data—TXT]

The energy index, which advanced 5.6 percent in June, rose 0.1 percent in July. A 2.0 percent increase in the index for energy services was largely offset by a 1.6 percent decline in the index for petroleum-based energy.

The food index advanced 0.5 percent in July, following a 0.1 percent increase in June. The index for food at home rose 0.7 percent, reflecting increases of 1.0 percent each in the indexes for fruits and vegetables, for cereals and bakery products, and for nonalcoholic beverages. Excluding food and energy, the CPI-U rose 0.2 percent in July, the same as in each of the previous three months.

During the first seven months of 2000, the CPI-U rose at a 4.1 percent seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). This compares with an increase of 2.7 percent for all of 1999.

These data are a product of the BLS Consumer Price Index program.