CPI Rose .3% on Prices for Food, Energy, New Vehicles
CPI Rose 0.3% in August on Higher Prices for Food, Energy, New Vehicles, Furniture and Appliances; Commenter and Blogger RJS at MarketWatch 666
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Consumer Price Index: All Items for the United States [USACPIALLMINMEI], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/USACPIALLMINMEI, September 19, 2021.
The consumer price index rose 0.3% in August, as higher prices for food, energy, new vehicles, hospital services, furniture and appliances were partly offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks, car and truck rentals, airline fares, and vehicle insurance from services like BestCarInsuranceWsa…the Consumer Price Index Summary from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that seasonally adjusted prices averaged 0.3% higher in August, after rising by 0.5% in July, 0.9% in June, by 0.6% in May, by 0.8% in April. by 0.6% in March, 0.4% in February, 0.3% in January, 0.2% in December, 0.2% in November, 0.1% in October, 0.2% in September, and by 0.4% last August…the unadjusted CPI-U index, which was originally set with prices of the 1982 to 1984 period equal to 100, rose from 273.003 in July to 273.567 in August, which left it statistically 5.2513% higher than the 259.918 index reading of August of last year, which is reported as a 5.3% year over year increase, down from the 5.4% year over year increase reported a month ago…with food and energy prices leading the rise the overall index increase, seasonally adjusted core prices, which exclude food and energy, were up by just 0.1% for the month, as the unadjusted core price index rose from 279.146 to 279.507, which left the core index 4.0003% ahead of its year ago reading of 267.703, which is reported as a 4.0% year over year increase, down from the 4.3% year over year core price increase that was reported for July…
The volatile seasonally adjusted energy price index rose 2.0% in August, after rising by 1.6% in July, by 1.5% in June, being unchanged in May, falling by 0.1% in April, rising by 5.0% in March, by 3.9% in February, by 3.5% in January, by 2.6% in December, 0.7% in November, 0.6% in October, 1.4% in September, 0.9% in August, and by 2.1% last July, and is now 25.0% higher than in August a year ago….the price index for energy commodities was 2.7% higher in August, while the price index for energy services was 1.1% higher, after rising 0.8% in July….the energy commodity index was up 2.7% on a 2.8% increase in the price of gasoline, even as the price of fuel oil fell 2.1%, while prices for other energy commodities, including propane, kerosene, and firewood, were on average 1.4% higher…within energy services, the price index for utility gas service rose 1.6% after rising 2.2% in July and is now 21.1% higher than it was a year ago, while the electricity price index rose 1.0% in August after rising 0.4% in July…..energy commodities are now averaging 41.9% higher than their year ago levels, with gasoline prices averaging 42.7% higher than they were a year ago, while the energy services price index is now up 8.6% from last August, as electricity prices are now 5.2% higher than a year ago…
The seasonally adjusted food price index rose 0.4% in August, after rising by 0.7% in July, by 0.8% in June, by 0.4% in May, by 0.4% in April, by 0.1% in March, by 0.2% in February, by 0.1% in January and by 0.3% in December, after being unchanged in November, rising 0.2% in October, and rising by 0.1% last August and last September, as the price index for food purchased for use at home was 0.4% higher in August, after rising 0.7% in July, while the index for food bought to eat away from home was also 0.4% higher, as average prices at fast food outlets rose 0.8% and prices at full service restaurants rose 0.6%, while food prices at employee sites and schools averaged 17.0% lower…
In the food at home categories, the price index for cereals and bakery products was unchanged, as average bread prices fell 0.1%, the price index for crackers and bread and cracker products fell 1.3%, and the price index for fresh biscuits, rolls, muffins fell 1.8%, while the price index for flour and prepared flour mixes rose 2.0% and rice prices were 0.3% higher…..at the same time, the price index for the meats, poultry, fish, and eggs food group was 0.7% higher, as the price index for beef and veal rose 1.7%, the price index for poultry rose 1.4%, and the price of eggs rose 2.6%….on the other hand, the seasonally adjusted price index for dairy products was 1.0% lower, as milk prices fell 1.4% and the price index for ice cream and related products was 1.3% lower…meanwhile, the fruits and vegetables price index was 0.2% higher, as the price index for fresh vegetables rose 1.0% and the price index for frozen fruits and vegetables rose 0.9%…in addition, the beverages price index was 1.0% higher, as the price index for carbonated drinks rose 1.1% and the price index for coffee rose 1.4%….lastly, the price index for the ‘other foods at home’ category rose 0.6%, as the price index for salad dressing rose 4.0%, the price index for margarine rose 2.7%, the price index for soups rose 1.9%, the price index for olives, pickles, relishes rose 0.8%, and the price index for snack foods was 0.6% higher…the itemized list for price changes of over 100 separate food itemsis included at the beginning of Table 2 for this release, which also gives us a line item breakdown for prices of more than 200 CPI items overall…since last July, the price index for uncooked beef steaks is up 16.6%, the price index for uncooked beef roasts is up 13.1%, and the price index for “other pork including roasts, steaks, and ribs is up 11.3%, while the price of food at employee sites and schools has fallen 42.5% over the past year…
Among the seasonally adjusted core components of the CPI, which rose 0.1% in August after rising by 0.3% in July, by 0.9% in June, by 0.7% in May, 0.9% in April, 0.3% in March, 0.1% in February, being unchanged in January and December, after rising by 0.2% in November, by 0.1% in October, by 0.2% in September, and by 0.3% in August of last year, the composite price index of all goods less food and energy goods was 0.3% higher in August, while the more heavily weighted composite for all services less energy services was unchanged….
Among the goods components, which will be used by the Bureau of Economic Analysis to adjust August retail sales for inflation in national accounts data, the price index for household furnishings and supplies was 1.2% higher, as the price index for window coverings rose 17.2%, the price index for living room, kitchen, and dining room furniture rose 3.8%, the sales of appliances rose 1.5%, and the price index for tools, hardware and supplies rose 2.0%, while the price index for dishes and flatware fell 4.6%….;at the same time, the apparel price index was 0.4% higher on a 7.9% increase in the price index for men’s suits, sport coats, and outerwear, a 4.3% increase in the price index for men’s shirts and sweaters, a 2.5% increase in the price index for men’s underwear, nightwear, swimwear, and accessories, and a 1.7% increase in the price index for women’s underwear, nightwear, swimwear, and accessories, even as the price index for women’s dresses fell 3.1%….meanwhile, the price index for transportation commodities other than fuel was unchanged, after rising 1.0% in July, 5.6% in June, 4.0% in May and 4.3% in April, as prices for new cars were 1.4% higher, prices for new trucks rose 1.2%, tire prices were 2.1% higher, and the price index for motor oil, coolant, and fluids rose 3.8%, while the price index for used cars and trucks fell 1.5% … at the same time, the price index for medical care commodities was 0.2% lower as prescription drug prices fell 0.4% and nonprescription drug prices fell 0.7% while the price index for medical equipment and supplies rose 0.9%…at the same time, the recreational commodities index was 1.0% higher on a 2.8% increase in TV prices, a 2.8% increase in the price index for musical instruments and accessories, a 2.3% increase in the price index for sporting goods, and a 0.9% increase in the price index for newspapers and magazines…on the other hand, the education and communication commodities index was 0.1% lower on a 1.1% decrease in the price index for educational books and supplies, even as the price index for computers, peripherals, and smart home assistants was 0.1% higher….lastly, a separate price index for alcoholic beverages was 0.3% higher, while the price index for ‘other goods’ was 0.4% higher on a 1.0% increase in the price index for cosmetics, perfume, bath, nail preparations and implements and a 1.3% increase in the price index for stationery, stationery supplies, and gift wrap…
Within core services, the price index for shelter was 0.3% higher as rents rose 0.3% and homeowner’s equivalent rent was 0.3% higher, while prices for lodging away from home at hotels and motels fell 3.3%, while at the same time the shelter sub-index for water, sewers and trash collection rose 0.3%, and other household operation costs were on average 0.7% higher, on a 1.7% increase in the price 0index for moving, storage, freight expense….at the same time, the price index for medical care services was 0.3% higher as dental services rose 1.3% and the price index for inpatient hospital services rose 1.1% while the price index for health insurance fell 0.6%….on the other hand, the transportation services price index was 2.3% lower, as the price index for car and truck rentals fell 8.5%, the price index for vehicle insurance fell 2.8%, airline fares fell 9.1% and the price index for intracity transportation fell 1.4%…meanwhile, the recreation services price index rose 0.2% as the price index fo rental of video discs and other media rose 1.5% and the price index for admission to sporting events rose 1.3%…. at the same time, the index for education and communication services was also 0.2% higher as the price index for land-line telephone services rose 1.3%, the price index for technical and business school tuition and fees rose 0.4%, and the price index for delivery services rose 1.4%…lastly, the index for other personal services was 0.4% higher as the price index for haircuts and other personal care services was 0.6% higher and the price index for laundry and dry cleaning services was 2.0% higher…
Among core line items, the price index for car and truck rental, which is still 52.6% hihger than a year ago, the price index for used car and trucks, which is still up 31.9% from a year ago, the price index for ship fares, which is up 12.6% since last August, the price index for intracity transportation, which is up 10.9% over the same span, the price index for living room, kitchen, and dining room furniture, which is now up 12.0% from a year ago, the price index for televisions, which has risen 13.3% since last August, the price index for women’s dresses, which has risen by 11.6% over the past year, the price index for jewelry, which is up by 12.9% since last August, the price index for lodging away from home including at hotels and motels, which has still risen 17.4% from a year ago, the price index for domestic services, which has risen 11.5% year over year, the price index for moving, storage, freight expense, which is up by 12.4% over the last 12 months, the price index for laundry equipment, which is up 11.0% from last August, have all seen prices rise by more than 10% over the past year, while the price index for telephone hardware, calculators, and other consumer information items, which is now down by 15.0% since last August, and the price index for sewing machines, fabric and supplies, which has fallen 10.8% from a year ago, are the only core line items to have decreased in price by a double digit magnitude over that one year span….
Too many words. Not enough charts.
dave, here’s the 4,610 charts that FRED has for US CPI metrics:
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/searchresults/?st=cpi&t=cpi%3Busa&ob=sr&od=desc&types=gen;geo
pick the one you want to see…then use the Edit button to change what’s displayed, ie, month over month, year over year, etc…the format tab under edit allows you to change the type of line, the color, or to use different types of markings for the metrics displayed, ie, circles, diamonds, triangles, etc…you can also use the “add line” tab to display more than one metric on a single graph…
FRED charts are losers.
Yes, they have all the info, but their presentation beauty is crap.
dave:
Feel free to put something together.