The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.3% in January, reported the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Before seasonal adjustment, the all items index increased 1.4% since this time last year.
Energy Index
In January, the index for energy rose 3.5%. The price of gasoline was the main contributor to the overall increase, with a percentage increase of 7.4%. In addition, the index for fuel oil also increased for the month by 5.4%.
Conversely, both the index for electricity and index for natural gas dropped in January, 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively.
“The energy index fell 3.6% over the past 12 months. Despite recent monthly increases, the gasoline index fell 8.6% over the last 12 months, and the fuel oil index fell 16.5%. The index for electricity, however, rose 1.5% over the last 12 months and the index for natural gas increased 4.3%,” stated U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
(Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Food Index
The index for food rose 0.1% in the month of January. The food at home index declined 0.1% as there were drops in four out six component grocery store food indexes. The index for food away from home increased 0.3%.
Over the last 12-month period, the food at home index has risen 3.7%. Moreover, the food away from home index also increased 3.9% since this time last year.
All Items Less Food and Energy
In January, the all items less food and energy index remained unchanged, reported the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Several component indexes saw percentage increases in January including the shelter index at 0.1%, the apparel index at 2.2%, and the medical care index by 0.4%.
Conversely, component indexes that decreased for the month included the index for airline fares by 3.2%, the used cars and trucks index by 0.9%, and the index for new vehicles by 0.5%.
Over the last year, the all items less food and energy index increased 1.4%.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics released a statement on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on January 2021 Consumer Price Index data:
“Data collection by personal visit for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) program has been suspended since March 16, 2020. When possible, data normally collected by personal visit were collected either online or by phone. Additionally, data collection in January was affected by the temporary closing or limited operations of certain types of establishments. These factors resulted in an increase in the number of prices considered temporarily unavailable and imputed. While the CPI program attempted to collect as much data as possible, many indexes are based on smaller amounts of collected prices than usual, and a small number of indexes that are normally published were not published this month. Additional information is available at www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-consumer-price-index.htm.”
Source cited: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/cpi_02102021.htm
Sarah has been writing on the topics of politics, history and finance for over a decade. She is currently an editor at CPI Inflation Calculator, covering the topics of CPI, inflation, US economy and economic commentary.
