Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Chart of the Week for July 20 - July 26, 2007
As of June 30, the year-over-year Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.7%, the same as in May. CPI measures the change in price paid over time by urban consumers for a fixed basket of goods and is one of the most frequently used statistics for identifying periods of inflation. As shown by the graph above, CPI has steadily risen since October's low of 1.3%, which was the lowest level since June of 2002. Increases in import prices, food, housing, and medical-care overshadowed decreases in energy, gasoline, clothing, and automobiles.
Core CPI, which excludes energy and food prices, is up 2.2% since this time last year. June's increase in core prices matched May's as the smallest 12-month gain since March 2006 and reflects the impact that increasing energy prices have on all other prices.
CPI has remained relatively constant from March 2007 to June 2007 and remains below the range experienced starting in 2005 through August 2006. Core CPI has remained in a relatively narrow range over the entire time period.
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