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Tuesday, October 16, 2012

BLS: CPI increases 0.6% in September, Core CPI 0.1%, Cost-Of-Living Adjustment about 1.66%

by Calculated Risk on 10/16/2012 08:30:00 AM

From the BLS:

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.6 percent in September on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 2.0 percent before seasonal adjustment. For the second month in a row, the substantial increase in the all items index was mostly the result of an increase in the gasoline index, which rose 7.0 percent in September after increasing 9.0 percent in August.
...
The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.1 percent for the third month in a row.
I'll post a graph later today after the Cleveland Fed releases the median and trimmed-mean CPI. This was above the consensus forecast of a 0.5% increase for CPI, and below the consensus for a 0.2% increase in core CPI.

The increase in CPI was mostly due to the sharp increase in gasoline prices.

Cost-Of-Living Adjustment (COLA): The BLS reported CPI-W increased to 2281.84 in September, for a Q3 average of 226.936. In Q3 2011, CPI-W average 223.33. The annual Social Security Cost-Of-Living Adjustment will be 1.66% (will be rounded).