US inflation (CPI) in 2009

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the US Department of Labor, Jan 15:


2009 in Review

For the 12 month period ending December 2009, the CPI-U rose 2.7 percent, compared to 0.1 percent for 2008. The larger increase was primarily due to the energy index, which rose 18.2 percent during 2009 after falling 21.3 percent in 2008. The energy upturn was caused
by the gasoline index, which rose 53.5 percent in 2009 after declining 43.1 percent in 2008. The household energy index, in contrast, declined 4.9 percent during 2009 with the index for natural
gas falling 18.1 percent and the electricity index declining 0.5 percent. The food index, which rose 5.9 percent in 2008, fell 0.5 percent for the 12 months ending December 2009, the first December-to-December decline since 1961. The index for food away from home rose 1.9 percent while the food at home index fell 2.4 percent. Within food at home, all six major grocery food groups posted declines in 2009 after rising in 2008. The dairy and related products group
declined the most, falling 7.6 percent, its largest annual decline since 1938.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.8 percent during 2009, the same increase as in 2008. This identical increase was the result of offsetting factors. Pushing the index higher were vehicle prices, which rose in 2009 after declining in 2008. The indexes for new vehicles rose 4.9 percent in 2009 and the index for used cars and trucks increased 9.2 percent. Additionally, the apparel index turned up in 2009, rising 1.9 percent after declining in each of the
previous two years. The medical care index rose more rapidly in 2009, increasing 3.4 percent after a 2.6 percent increase the previous year, and the tobacco index increased 30.1 percent in 2009 after rising 6.3 percent in 2008. Largely offsetting these accelerations was the shelter index, which posted its smallest annual increase since its inception in 1953. It increased only 0.3 percent after increasing 1.9 percent in 2008, with the indexes for both rent and owners' equivalent rent increasing 0.7 percent. Also, the indexes for recreation and for household furnishings and operations both declined in 2009 after rising in 2008.