The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released March 2019 Consumer Price Indexes (CPI) today. The all items category increased 0.6% over the last month & rose 1.9% over the last year while All items less food and energy increased 0.3% between February – March ’19 and rose 2.0% between March ’18 – March ’19. Household paper products increased 1.8% over the last month & rose 4.8% over the last year. Tobacco and smoking products increased 1.4% between February – March ’19 and rose 5.4% between March ’18 – March ’19. Canned fruits and vegetables increased 0.9% over the last month & rose 6.0% over the last year. Household cleaning products increased 0.8% between February – March ’19 & rose 3.3% between March ’18 – March ’19. Furniture and bedding increased 0.5% over the last month & rose 3.3% over the last year. Fresh vegetables increased 0.3% between February – March ’19 & rose 7.7% between March ’18 – March ’19. (all inflation rates are calculated with seasonally unadjusted indexes).
Shown below are historical inflation rates through March 2019 for selected CPI categories:
