Consumer Price Index Summary – November 2011

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), a measurement of the change in price of consumer goods  and services purchased by urbanites in a given time period, remained unchanged during November 2011. The all items index was up 3.4 percent for the prior 12-month period. The rate of increase slowed slightly from October 2011 which stood at 3.5 percent.

Echoing index performance in October 2011, the energy index and gasoline index, and the new and used car and trucks indexes declined and offset increases in the indexes of virtually all other indexes, including food, medical care, apparel, shelter, and personal care indexes, among others. November saw a 0.2 percent increase in the CPI-U for all indexes except food and energy.

The energy index dropped 1.8 percent from November 2010 dipping from 14.2 percent to 12.4 percent. The food index also showed a slight twelve-month decrease from 4.7 percent to 4.6 percent. These decreases could not offset the steady rise of the all items index less food and energy which rose 2.2 percent over the 12-month period from November 2010 to November 2011.

As has been the recent trend, the increase in the index for all items less food and energy was largely accounted for by increases in the medical care, apparel, and shelter indexes. The shelter index showed a 0.2 percent increase, mirroring the 0.2 increase in the rent index, since October. The medical care index rose at a 0.4 percent rate, reduced slightly from October’s increase of 0.5 percent. The apparel index rose for its seventh time in the past eight months, increasing by 0.6 percent in November 2011.