Consumer Price Index For All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) is a measure that examines the changes in the price of a demand of goods and services purchased by urban consumers. The urban consumer population is deemed by many as a better representative measure of the general public because most of the country’s population lives in highly populated areas, which represent close to 90% of the total population.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All
Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.1 percent in March, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months,
the index increased 2.3 percent before seasonal adjustment.
The seasonally adjusted increase in the all items index was mostly
due to an increase in the fresh fruits and vegetables index, which
rose 4.6 percent in March and accounted for over 60 percent of the
all items increase. Other food at home indexes were mixed and the
index for food away from home was unchanged.
The index for energy and for all items less food and energy were both
unchanged in March. Within energy, an increase in the electricity
index was offset by declines in the indexes for gasoline and natural
gas. Within all items less food and energy, the indexes for medical
care, new vehicles, and used cars and trucks posted increases, while
the indexes for shelter, household furnishings and operations, and
apparel declined.
CPI is the most frequently used statistic for identifying inflation or deflation. The CPI-U only considers the prices paid for goods and services by those that live in urban areas. Rising CPI-U figures means that the prices of goods/services within the urban population are becoming more expensive and can be a sign of rising inflation.
All variants of the CPI are similar to cost of living indexes as they assess prices in the market based on the goods and services needed to achieve a given standard of living. Different measures of CPI differ from cost of living indexes because they do not account for changes in other facets of standard of living, such as changes in environmental factors.