The Consumer Price Index increased by 0.4% in August to an index value of 215.834 (1982-84=100), more than the expected 0.3% increase, after remaining unchanged in July. Over the year the CPI is down by 1.5%, where March of 2008 marks the first instance of a 12-month decline in the CPI since 1955. The gasoline index was up by 9.1% over the month, fueling the increase in the CPI. The food index increased by 0.1% over the month . Excluding food and energy prices, which tend to be most volatile in terms of expenditure categories in a typical consumption bundle, the Core CPI is up by 0.1% over the month, and has advanced by 1.4% since August 2008.
Industrial Production increased by 0.8% to an index value of 97.4 (2002=100) in August, expected to increase by 0.6% following a 1% increase in July, revised upwards from an originally reported 0.5% increase. Over the year, the industrial production index is down by 10.7%. Capacity Utilization was reported at 69.6%, an increase from the 69% level in July. Currently, capacity utilization stands at a level 11.3% below its average for the period 1972 through 2008.
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