The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) edged up 0.2% in November, reported the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Before seasonal adjustment, the all items index increased 1.2% since this time last year.
(Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Food Index
The index for food dropped 0.1% in November, after rising 0.2% the previous month. The food at home index decreased 0.3%.
“Major grocery store food group indexes were mixed in November. The index for nonalcoholic beverages fell 0.9 percent in November, its largest monthly decline since December 2010. The index for other food at home fell 0.6 percent in November, and the index for cereals and bakery products decreased 0.5 percent; both indexes increased in October,” reported the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Over the past 12 month period, the food at home index rose 3.6%. All six major grocery store group indexes saw percentage increases since this time last year. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs saw the largest percentage rise at 5.9%, with specifically the index for beef edging up 7.5% over the last 12 months. Likewise, the food away from home index increased by 3.8% over the same timeframe.
Energy Index
The index for energy increased 0.4% in November, marking the sixth consecutive monthly percentage rise. The indexes for natural gas, electricity, and fuel oil all rose, 3.1%, 0.5%, 3.6%, respectively.
“In contrast to these increases, the gasoline index declined for the second month in a row, falling 0.4%. Before seasonal adjustment, gasoline prices fell 2.7% in November,” stated the bureau in its report.
Over the last 12-month period, the energy index dropped 9.4%. The price of gasoline plunged 19.4%, and the index for fuel oil plummeted an astonishing 26.4% since this time last year. Conversely, the natural gas and electricity indexes rose 4.4% and 1.6%, respectively.
(Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
All Items Less Food and Energy
In November, the all items less food and energy index edged up 0.2%, reported the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Several component indexes saw percentage increases including the shelter index at 0.1%, the apparel index at 0.9%, airline fares at 3.5%, and motor vehicle insurance at 1.1%.
Over the last year, the all items less food and energy index increased by 1.6%. The index for shelter edged up 1.9% over the past 12-month span, as did the medical care index with a percentage increase of 2.4%.
“Despite the monthly increases in November, the indexes for apparel, airline fares, and motor vehicle insurance all declined over the past 12 months,” reported the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics released a statement on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for the November 2020 data collection:
“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 November 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_12102020.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.
