U.S. inflation changed gears as consumer prices in February logged gains for the first time since October and went unchanged over the past year, according to a U.S. Labor Department report released Tuesday, March 24, 2015.
Inflation gains were broad-based, led by gasoline prices that advanced for the first time in eight months.
In February, the Consumer Price Index, or CPI, picked up 0.2% after falling 0.7% in January — the biggest monthly decline since December 2008.
Energy prices rose 1% with gas up 2.4%. These compare to drops in January of 9.7% and 18.7%. Food prices went unchanged in January for the first time in a year. Last month, however, they climbed 0.2% like in October through December.
Stripping food and energy prices, the core inflation rate or base consumer prices also advanced 0.2% in February after rising by the same in January.
Year-Over-Year Changes
In the February 2014 to February 2015 period, overall inflation posted a zero gain compared to a 0.1% decline in the 12-month period ended January — the first annual decline since October 2009. (Here are other recent inflation rates.)
Lastly, the core 12-month inflation level rose 1.7% through February 2015 after rising 1.6% in the 12 months ended January.
Below are most-watched consumer prices by category as well as their month-over-month changes. The final column offers the annual changes. The prices for these items are gathered and published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) each month. For the full BLS summary report, visit http://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/cpi_03242015.htm.
Table of US Inflation / Consumer Prices (%)
| Aug 2014 | Sept 2014 | Oct 2014 | Nov 2014 | Dec 2014 | Jan 2015 | Feb 2015 | 12 Month | |
| All items | -0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -0.3 | -0.3 | -0.7 | 0.2 | .0 |
| Food | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | .0 | 0.2 | 3.0 |
| Food at home | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | -0.2 | 0.1 | 2.9 |
| Food away from home | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 3.1 |
| Energy | -1.7 | -0.7 | -1.2 | -4.1 | -4.7 | -9.7 | 1.0 | -18.8 |
| Energy commodities | -2.6 | -0.9 | -2.1 | -7.0 | -9.0 | -18.0 | 2.1 | -32.5 |
| Gasoline (all types) | -2.7 | -0.9 | -2.0 | -7.2 | -9.2 | -18.7 | 2.4 | -32.8 |
| Fuel oil | -1.2 | -2.1 | -4.0 | -3.5 | -7.8 | -9.9 | 1.9 | -31.2 |
| Energy services | -0.3 | -0.4 | -0.1 | -0.3 | 0.8 | -0.1 | -0.2 | 0.9 |
| Electricity | 0.2 | -0.7 | 0.5 | .0 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 3.2 |
| Utility (piped) gas service | -1.9 | 0.4 | -1.9 | -1.3 | 1.4 | -3.4 | -2.0 | -6.5 |
| All items less food, energy | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.7 |
| Commodities less food, energy | -0.1 | 0.1 | .0 | -0.3 | -0.2 | -0.1 | 0.2 | -0.5 |
| New vehicles | 0.1 | .0 | 0.1 | .0 | .0 | -0.1 | 0.2 | 0.6 |
| Used cars and trucks | .0 | .0 | -0.6 | -0.9 | -0.8 | -0.1 | 1.0 | -2.9 |
| Apparel | -0.4 | 0.1 | -0.3 | -0.7 | -0.8 | 0.3 | 0.3 | -0.8 |
| Medical care | .0 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.9 | -0.3 | 0.7 | 3.9 |
| Services less energy | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 2.5 |
| Shelter | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 3.0 |
| Transportation | -0.3 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.2 | .0 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 2.2 |
| Medical care | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | -0.2 | 1.8 |
The Consumer Price Index report for March will be released on April 17, 2015 at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).