Consumer Price Index

August 2009

On a seasonally adjusted basis the CPI-U was unchanged from June after rising 0.7 percent from May to June. The July CPI-U decreased 2.1 percent from July 2008, following a 1.4 percent decrease from June 2008 to June 2009. This is the largest year-over-year decrease since January 1950. The index for energy fell 0.4 percent in July, following a 7.4 percent increase in June. The food index declined 0.3 percent in July, after remaining unchanged from May to June. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.1 percent in July, following a 0.2 percent increase in June. The six-month average CPI-U for the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MSA for the first half of 2009 was 1 percent less than for the first half of 2008.