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To: Frank E W who wrote (96875)	2/10/1999 1:36:00 PM
From: Mohan Marette	Respond to of 176387

<U.S.Economy> Consumer Price Index- What inflation?-Booooo Wall Street fear-mongers. ======================= Consumer Price Index Summary FOR TECHNICAL INFORMATION: Patrick C. Jackman (202) 606-7000 USDL-99-11 CPI QUICKLINE: (202) 606-6994 TRANSMISSION OF FOR CURRENT AND HISTORICAL MATERIAL IN THIS INFORMATION: (202) 606-7828 RELEASE IS EMBARGOED MEDIA CONTACT: (202) 606-5902 UNTIL 8:30 A.M. (EST) INTERNET ADDRESS: Thursday, January 14, 1999 stats.bls.gov CONSUMER PRICE INDEX: DECEMBER 1998 The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) declined 0.1 percent in December, before seasonal adjustment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The December 1998 CPI-U level of 163.9 (1982-84=100) was 1.6 percent higher than the index in December 1997. The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was unchanged in December, prior to seasonal adjustment, remaining at a level of 160.7. For the 12-month period ended in December, the CPI-W has increased 1.6 percent. CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-U rose 0.1 percent in December, following increases of 0.2 percent in each of the preceding two months. The food index was unchanged in December after advancing 0.1 percent in November. The index for food at home, which increased 0.2 percent in November, declined 0.2 percent in December, reflecting further decreases in the indexes for fruits and vegetables and for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs and a downturn in the index for other food at home. The energy index, which was unchanged in November, fell 1.4 percent in December. The index for petroleum-based energy declined 2.9 percent, and the index for energy services decreased 0.3 percent. Excluding food and energy, the CPI-U increased 0.3 percent in December, following increases of 0.2 percent in each of the preceding four months. Three-fourths of the December rise in the index for all items less food and energy was accounted for by a 18.8 percent rise in the index for cigarettes, reflecting the pass-through to retail of the 45-cents-a-pack wholesale price increase announced by major tobacco companies in late November. Table A. Percent changes in CPI for Urban Consumers (CPI-U) Seasonally adjusted Un- Compound adjusted Expenditure Changes from preceding month annual rate 12-mos. Category 1998 3-mos. ended ended June July Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Dec. '98 Dec. '98 All Items .1 .2 .2 .0 .2 .2 .1 2.2 1.6 Food and beverages .1 .2 .3 .0 .5 .2 .0 2.7 2.3 Housing .1 .2 .1 .2 .2 .3 .1 2.5 2.3 Apparel .2 -.3 1.1 -.7 .1 .0 -.8 -3.0 -.7 Transportation -.3 .3 .0 -.4 .3 .0 -.4 -.6 -1.7 Medical care .4 .2 .4 .3 .2 .2 .3 2.6 3.4 Recreation .1 .0 .1 .1 -.3 .2 .0 -.4 1.2 Education and communication .1 .0 -.5 .0 .2 .2 -.1 1.2 .7 Other goods and services .0 .7 .1 .9 .3 -.3 4.2 18.0 8.8 Special Indexes Energy -.7 .0 -1.0 -1.3 .9 .0 -1.4 -2.0 -8.8 Food .1 .2 .2 .0 .6 .1 .0 2.8 2.3 All Items less food and energy .1 .2 .2 .2 .2 .2 .3 2.5 2.4 As previously announced, effective with release of data for January 1999, the BLS will introduce a new formula for calculating the basic components of the CPI. See page 5 for more details. See pages 6-10 for announcements of other methodological changes to be introduced with data for January 1999. For the 12-month period ended in December 1998, the CPI-U rose 1.6 percent. This compares with an advance of 1.7 percent in 1997 and was the smallest annual increase since a 1.1 percent rise in 1986. The energy component, which generally has acted as a moderating influence on the overall change in consumer prices since the early 1980's, registered its largest annual decline--down 8.8 percent in 1998--since a 19.7 percent drop in 1986. Petroleum-based energy costs fell 15.1 percent, and charges for energy services decreased 3.3 percent. The food index rose 2.3 percent in 1998. Grocery store food prices rose 2.1 percent after advancing 1.0 percent in 1997. Each of the six major grocery store food groups accelerated in 1998, relative to 1997, except for the index for nonalcoholic beverages, which declined 1.1 percent after increasing 4.9 percent in 1997. This group's decline was due to the sharp deceleration in coffee prices, which fell 8.8 percent in 1998 after increasing 16.9 percent in 1997. The index for dairy products showed the sharpest acceleration, advancing 6.6 percent in 1998 after declining 0.5 percent in the previous year. The CPI-U excluding food and energy advanced 2.4 percent in 1998, following an increase of 2.2 percent in 1997. The slightly larger increase in 1998 than in the preceding year was attributable to the sharp rise in tobacco prices--up 31.8 percent--which accounted for 15 percent of the annual increase in the index for all items less food and energy. The rates for selected groups during the past five years are shown below. Percent change 12 months ended in December 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 All Items 2.7 2.5 3.3 1.7 1.6 Food and beverages 2.7 2.1 4.2 1.6 2.3 Housing 2.2 3.0 2.9 2.4 2.3 Apparel -1.6 .1 -.2 1.0 -.7 Transportation 3.8 1.5 4.4 -1.4 -1.7 Medical care 4.9 3.9 3.0 2.8 3.4 Recreation 1.4 2.8 3.0 1.5 1.2 Education and communication 3.3 4.0 3.4 3.0 .7 Other goods and services 4.2 4.3 3.6 5.2 8.8 Special indexes Energy 2.2 -1.3 8.6 -3.4 -8.8 Energy commodities 5.2 -3.3 13.8 -6.9 -15.1 Energy services -.6 .8 3.8 .2 -3.3 All items less energy 2.6 2.9 2.9 2.1 2.4 Food 2.9 2.1 4.3 1.5 2.3 All Items food and energy 2.6 3.0 2.6 2.2 2.4