March 2012 Consumer Price Index

Historical release narrative reproduced from the official public-domain source. Statistical tables, standard technical appendices, administrative material and attendance rosters are omitted; formatting is adapted for reading. Figures retain the release's historical context and may have been revised. Consult the linked source for the complete document.

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.3 percent in March on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 2.7 percent before seasonal adjustment.

The indexes for food, energy, and all items less food and energy all increased in March. The gasoline index continued to rise, more than offsetting a decline in the household energy index and leading to a 0.9 percent increase in the energy index. The food index rose 0.2 percent as the index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs increased notably.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent in March after increasing 0.1 percent in February. Most of the major components increased in March, with the indexes for shelter and used cars and trucks accounting for about half the total increase for all items less food and energy. The indexes for medical care, apparel, recreation, new vehicles, and airline fares increased as well, while the indexes for tobacco and household furnishings and operations were among the few to decline in March.

The all items index has risen 2.7 percent over the last 12 months, a decline from last month's 2.9 percent figure. The energy index has risen 4.6 percent and the food index has increased 3.3 percent; both increases are smaller than last month. In contrast, the 12-month change in the index for all items less food and energy, which was 2.2 percent last month, edged up to 2.3 percent in March.

Seasonally adjusted changes from preceding month Un- adjusted 12-mos. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. ended 2011 2011 2011 2011 2012 2012 2012 Mar. 2012

Consumer Price Index Data for March 2012

Food

The food index rose 0.2 percent in March after being unchanged in February. The index for food at home, unchanged in February, rose 0.1 percent in March. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs rose 0.8 percent, its largest increase since May. The index for other food at home also rose in March, increasing 0.3 percent. The other four major grocery store food groups declined. The fruits and vegetables index fell 0.4 percent, its sixth consecutive decline, as the fresh vegetables index fell 1.6 percent. The index for cereals and bakery products fell 0.2 percent, as did the index for nonalcoholic beverages. The index for dairy and related products fell 0.1 percent, its fourth decline in five months. The food at home index has risen 3.6 percent over the last 12 months; this was its smallest 12-month change since last March. The fruits and vegetables index has declined 3.9 percent over that period, its largest 12-month decline since November 2009. The other five major grocery store food group indexes have increased over the past year, with the dairy group posting the largest increase at 6.3 percent. The index for food away from home rose 0.2 percent in March after a 0.1 percent increase in February and has risen 3.0 percent over the last 12 months.

Energy

The energy index, which rose 3.2 percent in February, increased 0.9 percent in March. The gasoline index rose 1.7 percent following its 6.0 percent February increase. (Before seasonal adjustment, gasoline prices increased 8.1 percent in March.) The fuel oil index also continued to rise, increasing 2.7 percent in March after rising 2.8 percent in February. In contrast, the index for energy services (comprised of electricity and natural gas) fell 0.4 percent. The natural gas index rose 0.9 percent after declining in each of the previous five months. The electricity index, however, fell 0.8 percent, its largest decline since June. Over the last 12 months, the gasoline index has risen 9.0 percent and the fuel oil index has increased 5.3 percent. The electricity index, however, has only increased 0.6 percent and the index for natural gas has declined 9.1 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.2 percent in March after a 0.1 percent increase in February. The shelter index increased 0.2 percent, the sixth straight such increase, with the indexes for rent and owners' equivalent rent both increasing 0.2 percent. The index for used cars and trucks rose sharply in March, increasing 1.3 percent after declining in each of the previous six months. The medical care index rose 0.3 percent in March, with the index for medical care commodities increasing 0.4 percent and the medical care services index advancing 0.3 percent. The apparel index rose 0.5 percent after declining in February; similarly, the index for recreation rose 0.2 percent after a February decline as the index for recreation services rose 0.4 percent. Other increases in March included the indexes for new vehicles (0.2 percent), airline fares (0.4 percent), and personal care (0.4 percent). In contrast, the index for tobacco fell 0.3 percent in March, and the indexes for household furnishings and operations and for alcoholic beverages both declined 0.2 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy has risen 2.3 percent over the last 12 months. The index for shelter has risen 2.1 percent over the period. The apparel index has risen 4.9 percent, the medical care index has increased 3.5 percent, and the index for new vehicles has risen 2.5 percent.

Not seasonally adjusted CPI measures

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 2.7 percent over the last 12 months to an index level of 229.392 (1982-84=100). For the month, the index increased 0.8 percent prior to seasonal adjustment.

The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) increased 2.9 percent over the last 12 months to an index level of 226.304 (1982-84=100). For the month, the index increased 0.9 percent prior to seasonal adjustment.

The Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U) increased 2.4 percent over the last 12 months. For the month, the index increased 0.6 percent on a not seasonally adjusted basis. Please note that the indexes for the post-2010 period are subject to revision.

Redesigning the Consumer Price Index (CPI) Press Release Tables

The format of the tables contained in the CPI news release changed beginning with this CPI news release for March, 2012. News release tables are part of the news release pdf and html files, and are available independently in html format. The new tables are also available in XLS format. In addition, the BLS will begin issuing monthly companion XLS files, which will contain additional index level and CPI-W information.

These tables were made available for public comment during October 2011. In response to the public comments, the BLS will issue XLS files each month, as companions to the news release. There will be CPI-U and CPI-W files, and in addition to the data contained in the news release tables, the Excel files will contain index values.

In August 2009, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) restructured the text of the CPI news release to focus on the price movements of three broad expenditure categories, namely Food, Energy, and All items less food and energy. Table A within the CPI news release text was also updated in August 2009 to reflect this new structure. Before August 2009, the text of the CPI news release had focused on eight CPI `major groups' (Food and beverages; Housing; Apparel; Transportation; Medical care; Recreation; Education and communication; and Other goods and services).

While the text of the CPI news release was restructured in 2009, seven additional CPI news release tables continued to be published using the eight major groups. BLS has redesigned these news release tables, to reflect the focus on Food, Energy, and All items less food and energy. Within these three broad categories, CPI item series are further divided into commodities and services.

Beyond the redesign in the structure of the CPI news release tables, several other improvements to these tables have been made.

The new Table 1 gives a summary of the index series which typically contribute to changes in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).

The new Table 2 shows the full publication stub using the new structure for the CPI-U, including 11 new items series that were created to augment the redesign in the publication structure.

Second, standard errors for percent changes are shown on tables 6 and 7. Confidence intervals for statistics can be created using standard errors; e.g., roughly 95 percent confidence intervals can be constructed using two standard errors. For example, if an item increased 3.7 percent, and its standard error was 0.6 percent, the 95 percent confidence interval for that price change can be said to be 3.7 percent plus or minus two standard errors, or 3.7 percent plus or minus 1.2 percent.

Finally, each item series in tables 6 and 7 show the last time that item had a price change as large (or as small) as the percent change published that period. For example, if bananas rose 3.7 percent, and that was its largest increase since November 2007, that would be noted in the new tables.

In addition, most of the previous tables showed the `relative importance', or weight, of each item category as of the previous December. The relative importance columns in the new tables are improved in that they are updated monthly to reflect the change in relative prices over time.

Finally, there are no longer any news release tables that focus on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). That said, the CPI-W All items index level and percent changes will still be noted in the text of the news release, and a companion XLS file with CPI-W information will be available.

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