Feb. 13 (UPI) — The consumer price index for the 12 months ending in January slowed to 2.4%, beating projections, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
The index for all items climbed 0.2% on a monthly, seasonally-adjusted basis. The annual 2.4% increase is not seasonally adjusted.
While overall inflation cooled in January, core consumer prices, excluding volatile categories like food and energy, continued to rise. The index for all items aside from food and energy rose 0.3% in January, meeting economists’ expectations.
Grocery items increased almost across the board, with five of six major food group indexes increasing in January.
Cereals and bakery products were up 1.2% for the month while meats, poultry, fish and eggs increased 0.2%. Fruits and vegetables increased 0.1% and dairy products were up 0.8%.
The only grocery category to decline was other food at home, ticking down 0.3%.
Shelter was the biggest contributor to growing inflation in January, rising 0.2%. For the year ending in January, the index for shelter was up 3%.
Conversely, the energy index declined 1.5%, helping keep overall inflation in check.
A 3.2% drop in the gasoline index bolstered falling energy costs, though natural gas increased by 1%. On an annual basis, the gasoline index was down 7.5% under January 2025.
Declining indexes in energy are a welcome sign for consumers as utility services remain high. The utility gas service index rose 1% over December, reaching 9.8% annually. Electricity declined 0.1% but remains 6.3% higher than in January 2025.
Transportation services were the only index to increase more than utility gas on a monthly basis, rising 1.4%. This followed a 0.4% increase in December.
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