The average cost of a market basket of goods and services in the United States increased 0.1 percent in December, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index (CPI). The December CPI level was 217.54, an increase of 2.7 percent over the past year.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.1 percent, after having increased 0.4 percent in the previous month. The only subcategory indices to grow more than 1 percent were fuel oil (1.1) and used vehicles (2.5). The overall energy index grew slightly (0.2) for the fifth straight month.
The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, grew by 0.1 percent in December after remaining flat in November and having increased by 0.2 percent in both September and October. Over-the-year core inflation was +1.8 percent. The index growth for used vehicles was the main contributor to the slight increase in December.
The food index grew 0.2 percent after having increased by 0.1 percent in November. The food away from home index increased by 0.1 percent while the food at home index increased by 0.3 percent. This is the largest increase for the food at home index since October 2008. Over the past year, the food index has decreased by 0.5 percent.
The CPI is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, fuels, transportation fares, doctors’ and dentists’ services, prescription drugs, and other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day activities. Prices are collected in 87 urban areas across the country (including Kansas City and St. Louis) from about 50,000 housing units and approximately 23,000 stores, hospitals and other types of service establishments.
The actual index is expressed as a number derived by comparing the current cost of goods and services to the cost of the same items between 1982 and 1984. The reference year is assigned a value of 100. Subsequent indices are expressed as a percentage of the base year.
