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 CPI QUICKLINE:         (202) 691-6994      TRANSMISSION OF
 FOR CURRENT AND HISTORICAL                 MATERIAL IN THIS
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 INTERNET ADDRESS:                          Thursday, January 15, 2004
    http://www.bls.gov/cpi/
                
                CONSUMER PRICE INDEX:  DECEMBER 2003
 
      The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) decreased
 0.1 percent in December, before seasonal adjustment, the Bureau of Labor
 Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  The December
 level of 184.3 (1982-84=100) was 1.9 percent higher than in December 2002.
      
      The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers
 (CPI-W) decreased 0.2 percent in December, prior to seasonal adjustment.
 The December level of 179.9 was 1.6 percent higher than in December 2002.
      
 CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U)
      
      On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-U increased 0.2 percent in
 December, following a decline of 0.2 percent in November.  The index for
 food rose 0.6 percent in December with prices for food at home up 0.8
 percent, reflecting, in part, another large increase in beef prices.
 Energy costs rose 0.2 percent in December, following a 3.0 percent drop
 in November.  The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.1 
 percent in December, compared with a 0.1 percent decrease in November.
 Shelter costs, which were unchanged in November, increased 0.3 percent in
 December.
 
 Table A.  Percent changes in CPI for Urban Consumers (CPI-U)
                                   Seasonally adjusted                 Un-
                                                          Compound   adjusted
     Expenditure        Changes from preceding month    annual rate   12-mos.
      Category                      2003                3-mos. ended   ended
                    June July  Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.   Dec. '03   Dec. '03
 All Items            .2    .2   .3   .3   .0  -.2  .2      .0       1.9
  Food and beverages  .4    .1   .3   .2   .6   .4  .6     6.6       3.5
  Housing             .1    .2   .1   .1   .3  -.1  .3     1.7       2.2
  Apparel             .4    .0   .1   .5   .2  -.5 -.4    -2.6      -2.1   
  Transportation      .3    .2  1.1   .9 -1.6 -1.3 -.2   -11.7        .3
  Medical care        .3    .5   .2   .5   .3   .3  .6     4.9       3.7
  Recreation          .1    .0   .0   .2   .0   .1  .0      .4       1.1
  Education and                                                         
    communication    -.1    .5   .5   .1   .0   .1  .4     1.8       1.6
  Other goods and                                                     
    services          .0    .4   .1   .1   .1  -.1  .1      .4       1.5
  Special Indexes                                                       
   Energy             .8    .4  2.7  3.0 -3.9 -3.0  .2   -23.8       6.9
   Food               .4    .1   .3   .2   .6   .4  .6     6.6       3.6
   All Items less                                                       
     food and energy  .0    .2   .1   .1   .2  -.1  .1     1.0       1.1
     
 See pages 5 - 7 for notes on planned changes in the CPI in 2004.
     
      At a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), consumer prices were
 unchanged in the fourth quarter of 2003.  In the first three quarters
 changes were at annual rates of 5.2, -0.7, and 3.1 percent, respectively.
 For the 12 month period ended in December, the CPI rose 1.9 percent.  In
 2002 the increase was 2.4 percent.  Although the index for energy
 oscillated markedly throughout the year--up at a 76.5 percent SAAR in the
 first quarter, down at a 24.5 percent rate in the second quarter, up at a
 27.8 percent rate in the third quarter, and down at a 23.8 percent rate in
 the fourth quarter of 2003--the increase for the year of 6.9 percent was
 less than the 10.7 percent increase in 2002.  The food index rose 3.6
 percent in 2003.  The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs rose 11.5
 percent, accounting for about two-thirds of the 4.5 percent advance in the
 index for food at home,.  Beef prices rose 23.5 percent in 2003, their
 largest annual advance since a 28.3 percent increase in 1978.
      
       Excluding food and energy, the CPI-U advanced at a 1.0 percent SAAR
 in the fourth quarter, following increases at rates of 0.8, 1.0, and 1.5
 percent in the first three quarters of 2003.  The 1.1 percent advance in
 2003 compares with a 1.9 percent rise in all of 2002.  The principal
 reason for the smaller increase in 2003 was the smaller advance in shelter
 costs--up 2.2 percent in 2003 compared with a 3.1 percent rise in 2002.
 Also contributing to the moderation in 2003 were smaller increases in the
 indexes for motor vehicle insurance and medical care, a downturn in the
 index for cigarettes, coupled with a larger decline in used car prices.
 The annual rates for selected groups for the last eight years are shown
 below.
      
                                 Percentage change 12 months                   
                                 ended in December                         
                                                                     
                       1996   1997   1998    1999   2000   2001   2002   2003
 All items              3.3    1.7    1.6     2.7    3.4    1.6    2.4    1.9
  Food and beverages    4.2    1.6    2.3     2.0    2.8    2.8    1.5    3.5
  Housing               2.9    2.4    2.3     2.2    4.3    2.9    2.4    2.2
  Apparel               -.2    1.0    -.7     -.5   -1.8   -3.2   -1.8   -2.1
  Transportation        4.4   -1.4   -1.7     5.4    4.1   -3.8    3.8     .3
  Medical care          3.0    2.8    3.4     3.7    4.2    4.7    5.0    3.7
  Recreation            3.0    1.5    1.2      .8    1.7    1.5    1.1    1.1
  Education and
   communication        3.4    3.0     .7     1.6    1.3    3.2    2.2    1.6
  Other goods and     
   services             3.6    5.2    8.8     5.1    4.2    4.5    3.3    1.5
                                                                           
 Special indexes
  Energy                8.6   -3.4   -8.8    13.4   14.2  -13.0   10.7    6.9
   Energy commodities  13.8   -6.9  -15.1    29.5   15.7  -24.5   23.7    6.9
   Energy services      3.8     .2   -3.3     1.2   12.7   -1.5     .4    6.9
  All items less energy 2.9    2.1    2.4     2.0    2.6    2.8    1.8    1.5
   Food                 4.3    1.5    2.3     1.9    2.8    2.8    1.5    3.6
  All items less
    food and energy     2.6    2.2    2.4     1.9    2.6    2.7    1.9    1.1

     
      The food and beverages index rose 0.6 percent in December.  The index
 for food at home increased 0.8 percent, following increases of 0.7 percent
 in each of the preceding two months.  Each of the six major grocery store
 food groups advanced in December, with the indexes for meats, poultry,
 fish and eggs, for dairy products, and for nonalcoholic beverages
 recording increases of more than 1.0 percent.   Within the meats, poultry,
 fish, and eggs group, beef prices continued to advance, increasing 1.7
 percent in December.  Prices for poultry, eggs and other meats also
 increased substantially in December, more than offsetting a small decline
 in pork prices.   The indexes for dairy products and for nonalcoholic
 beverages each turned up in December, reflecting price increases for ice
 cream and related products and for carbonated drinks, respectively, each
 of which had declined substantially in November.  The indexes for other
 food at home, for fruits and vegetables, and for cereals and bakery
 products increased 0.7, 0.3, and 0.2 percent, respectively.  Within the
 fruits and vegetables group, a 1.5 percent increase in the index for fresh
 vegetables more than offset declines in the indexes for fresh fruits and
 for processed fruits and vegetables. The other two components of the food
 and beverages index--food away from home and alcoholic beverages--each
 increased 0.3 percent.
      
      The index for housing, which declined 0.1 percent in November,
 increased 0.3 percent in December.  Each of the three major housing groups
 contributed to the acceleration.  Shelter costs, which were unchanged in
 November, increased 0.3 percent in December.  Within shelter, the indexes
 for rent, for owners' equivalent rent, and for lodging away from home rose
 0.2, 0.1, and 1.7 percent, respectively.  (Prior to seasonal adjustment,
 the index for lodging away from home declined 1.8 percent.).  During the
 12 month period ended in December, the indexes for rent and owners'
 equivalent rent rose 2.7 and 2.0 percent, respectively.  In 2002 these
 indexes increased 3.1 and 3.3 percent, respectively.  The index for fuels
 and utilities, which declined 0.9 percent in November, increased 0.5
 percent in December.  Charges for natural gas and for electricity each
 turned up in December, advancing 1.9 and 0.1 percent, respectively, and
 the index for fuel oil rose 0.6 percent.  (Prior to seasonal adjustment,
 fuel oil prices increased 2.1 percent.)  During the 12 month period ended
 in December, charges for natural gas and for electricity rose 17.4 and 2.6
 percent, respectively, and fuel oil prices increased 7.8 percent.  The
 index for household furnishings and operations, turned up in December,
 increasing 0.2 percent, but fell 1.8 percent during the 12 month period
 ended in December.
      
      The transportation index decreased for the third consecutive month--
 down 0.2 percent in December.  The index for gasoline declined 0.1
 percent, after falling sharply in October and November.  Despite the
 recent declines, gasoline prices are still 6.8 percent higher than in
 December 2002.  The index for new vehicles was unchanged in December.  (As
 of December, about 72 percent of the new vehicle sample was represented by
 2004 models.  The 2004 models will continue to be phased in, with
 appropriate adjustments for quality change, over the next several months
 as they replace old models at dealerships. For a report on quality changes
 for the 2004 vehicles represented in the Producer Price Index sample, see
 news release USDL-03-721, dated November 14, 2003.)  New vehicle prices
 are 1.8 percent lower than in December 2002.  The index for used cars and
 trucks decreased 0.7 percent in December and this index has declined 11.8
 percent in the last 12 months.  The index for public transportation
 declined 1.1 percent in December, reflecting a 1.9 percent drop in airline
 fares.  These fares fell 0.1 percent in all of 2003 after registering
 declines in 2001 and 2002 of 3.9 and 2.4 percent, respectively.
      
      The index for apparel declined 0.4 percent in December.  (Prior to
 seasonal adjustment, apparel prices fell 3.3 percent, reflecting pre-
 holiday discounting.)   During the 12 month period ended in December,
 apparel prices declined 2.1 percent, their sixth consecutive annual
 decline.
      
      Medical care costs rose 0.6 percent in December and are 3.7 percent
 higher than a year ago.  The index for medical care commodities--
 prescription drugs, nonprescription drugs, and medical supplies--increased
 0.4 percent.   The index for medical care services rose 0.6 percent in
 December.  The indexes for professional services and for hospital and
 related services increased 0.5 and 0.6 percent, respectively.  In the 12
 month period ended in December, these indexes advanced 2.8 and 6.4
 percent, respectively.
      
      The index for recreation was unchanged in December.  Increases in the
 indexes for admissions to movies, theaters, concerts, and sporting events
 and for pets, pet products and services were offset by decreases in the
 indexes for toys and for video and audio products and services.  During
 the 12 months ended in December, the indexes for admissions and for pets
 increased 3.4 and 2.7 percent, respectively, while prices for toys, for
 sporting goods and equipment, and for photography all declined.  The index
 for video and audio increased 0.1 percent as a 3.8 percent increase in
 cable television charges more than offset declines in each of the other
 components within that category.
      
      The index for education and communication increased 0.4 percent in
 December.  Educational costs increased 0.7 percent, while communication
 costs were unchanged.  Within the former category, the index for
 educational books and supplies increased 2.6 percent  During the 12 months
 ended in December, educational costs rose 7.2 percent, largely as a result
 of a 9.8 percent rise in the index for college tuition and fees.  The
 index for communication declined 3.9 percent during the last 12 months,
 reflecting declines in long distance telephone services and for prices of
 personal computers and peripheral equipment--down 10.0 and 17.8 percent,
 respectively.
      
      The index for other goods and services increased 0.1 percent in
 December, reflecting a 0.3 percent increase in the index for tobacco and
 smoking products.  These prices, however, declined 0.4 percent in all of
 2003, their first decrease since a 5.9 percent drop in 1993.
      
 CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W)
 
      On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and
 Clerical Workers increased 0.2 percent in December.
 
 Table B.  Percent changes in CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical
            Workers (CPI-W)
                                    Seasonally adjusted                 Un-
                                                          Compound   adjusted
     Expenditure        Changes from preceding month    annual rate   12-mos.
      Category                      2003                3-mos. ended   ended
                   June July  Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.   Dec. '03   Dec. '03
 All Items           .2    .1   .4   .3  -.2  -.3  .2     -1.1       1.6
  Food and beverages .4    .1   .3   .3   .6   .5  .5      6.6       3.7
  Housing            .1    .2   .2   .1   .2  -.1  .3      1.3       2.3
  Apparel            .4   -.5   .3   .7   .4  -.5 -.2     -1.3      -1.8
  Transportation     .3    .1  1.1   .8 -1.8 -1.7 -.3    -14.1       -.3
  Medical care       .3    .4   .2   .5   .4   .3  .6      5.5       3.7
  Recreation         .0    .2   .0   .0  -.1   .3 -.1       .4        .8
  Education and                                                         
    communication   -.2    .5   .4  -.1   .0   .1  .3      1.5        .8
  Other goods and                                                     
    services         .0    .5   .2   .0   .1  -.2  .1       .3       1.0
  Special Indexes                                                       
   Energy           1.1    .4  3.0  3.3 -4.0 -3.2  .2    -25.0       6.9
   Food              .4    .1   .3   .3   .6   .5  .6      7.1       3.7
   All Items less                                                       
     food and energy .1    .1   .1   .0   .1  -.1  .1       .2        .7


 Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U)
 
      The C-CPI-U declined 0.2 percent in December on a not seasonally
 adjusted basis.  The December level of 107.5 (December 1999=100) was 1.4
 percent higher than in December 2002.  Table 7 contains the most recent
 indexes for all items and the component series that are published.   Data
 are published monthly in the CPI Detailed Report and are available on the
 CPI home page:  http://www.bls.gov/cpi/.  Please note that the indexes for
 the post-2001 period are subject to revision.
 
 
     Consumer Price Index data for January are scheduled for release on
 Friday, February 20, 2004, at 8:30 A.M. (EST).
 
 _______________________________________________________________________________

 
 Recalculated Seasonally Adjusted Indexes 
 to be Available on February 18, 2004
 
 Each year with the release of the January CPI, seasonal adjustment factors
 are recalculated to reflect price movements from the just-completed
 calendar year.  This routine annual recalculation may result in revisions
 to seasonally adjusted indexes for the previous 5 years.  BLS will make
 available recalculated seasonally adjusted indexes, as well as
 recalculated seasonal adjustment factors, for the period January 1999
 through December 2003, on Wednesday, February 18, 2004.  This date is two
 working days before the scheduled release of the January 2004 CPI on
 Friday, February 20, 2004.
 
 The revised indexes and seasonal factors will be available on the
 internet.  The address is http://www.bls.gov/cpi.  Look under Tables
 Created by BLS and select Revised Seasonally Adjusted Data, 2003.
 
 For further information please contact Dan Chow or Jeff Wilson on (202)
 691-6968.

 ______________________________________________________________________________


 Planned Changes in the Consumer Price Index in 2004
 
 Expenditure Weight Update

    Effective with release of data for January 2004, the Bureau of Labor
 Statistics (BLS) will update the consumption expenditure weights in the
 Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) and Consumer Price
 Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) to the 2001-02
 period.  The updated expenditure weights for these indexes will replace
 the 1999-2000 weights that were introduced effective with the January 2002
 CPI release.  As originally announced by BLS in December 1998, CPI
 expenditure weights will continue to be updated at two-year intervals
 subsequent to the 2004 updating.

    For the first six months of 2004, BLS will continue to calculate and
 publish selected CPI-U and CPI-W "overlap" indexes using the 1999-2000
 expenditure pattern that was introduced into the CPI in 2002.  These
 indexes will be compiled on a not seasonally adjusted basis.  Comparison
 of these index series to the corresponding updated series will enable
 users of the CPI to observe the effects of the expenditure weight change.
 The subsequent expenditure updates scheduled in 2006 and every two years
 thereafter also will be accompanied by the publication of overlap indexes
 for a six-month period using the previous expenditure pattern.

 C-CPI-U Index Revisions

    As scheduled, effective with release of data for January 2004, the
 Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U) will
 undergo its second annual index revision.  C-CPI-U indexes for the 12
 months of 2002 will be issued in final form and values for the 12 months
 of 2003 will be revised and issued as interim.  Calculation of the
 preliminary versions of the C-CPI-U--the initial version for January and
 the subsequent months of 2004 and the interim (revised initial) indexes
 for 2003--will employ the 2001-02 expenditure weights also used in the CPI-
 U and CPI-W.  Note that the final values of the C-CPI-U employ monthly
 expenditure weights corresponding to the price collection period in their
 calculation.  Thus, in calculation of the final (revised interim) C-CPI-U
 values for the months of 2002, the biennial 1999-2000 expenditure weights
 will be replaced with separate monthly expenditure weights.

 Elementary Index Formula Changes

    Effective with release of data for January 2004, a geometric mean
 formula will replace the arithmetic mean formula in the calculation of the
 elementary indexes in the CPI-U, CPI-W, and C-CPI-U for (1) cable and
 satellite television and radio services (formerly cable TV) and for (2)
 eyeglasses and eye care.  The geometric mean formula at the elementary
 index level is more appropriate for use in categories in which the
 consumer may alter his or her spending in response to changing prices
 within that category.  Since the original decision to employ an arithmetic
 mean was made by BLS in 1998, changes in the markets for the above-
 mentioned categories have led to increased opportunity for consumer
 substitution behavior within those categories. The BLS introduced the
 geometric mean formula for calculating most of the basic components of the
 CPI-U and CPI-W with release of the CPI for January 1999.

    The BLS will continue to evaluate the appropriateness of the formula
 used in the calculation of the elementary item indexes and on an annual
 basis may change or adjust the formula for constructing these indexes.  A
 description of the 1999 adoption of the geometric mean formula is
 available on the internet at http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1998/10/contents.htm

 Title Changes

    The following index and average price series will have new titles
 beginning in January 2004.  These series are continuous. The new titles
 serve to clarify the content of each series.

 Index series with new titles
 
 Item    Old title                New title
 code

 SEHF02  Utility natural gas      Utility (piped) gas
         service                  service
 
 SERA02  Cable television         Cable and satellite
                                  television and radio
                                  service
 
 SEED01  Telephone services,      Land-line telephone
         local charges            services, local charges
 
 SEED02  Telephone services,      Land-line telephone
         long distance charges    services, long distance
                                  charges
 
 SS27051 Interstate toll calls    Land-line interstate toll
                                  calls
 
 SS27061 Intrastate toll calls    Land-line intrastate toll
                                  calls
 
 SEED03  Cellular telephone       Wireless telephone
         services                 services
 
 SEEE    Information and          Information technology,
         information processing   hardware, and services
         other than telephone
         services
 
 SEEE03  Computer information     Internet services and
         processing services      electronic information
                                  providers

 SEEE04  Other information        Telephone hardware,
         processing equipment     calculators, and other
                                  consumer information items

 Average price series with new titles
 
 Item     Old title               New title
 code
 
 72620    Utility natural gas     Utility (piped) gas per
          per therm               therm
 
 72601    Utility natural gas -   Utility (piped) gas - 40
          40 therms               therms
 
 72611    Utility natural gas -   Utility (piped) gas - 100
          100 therms              therms


 Expanded Collection of Price Data

    During the last year, the CPI program completed its conversion to
 Computer Assisted Data Collection (CADC).  Due to the efficiencies gained
 from the conversion to CADC, BLS will extend data collection to cover the
 entire month, beginning with data for January 2004.

    The new data collection process utilizes hand-held computers called
 penpads, along with software developed by BLS staff, to collect price and
 other item characteristic data in stores each month.  Data collection
 instructions are transmitted electronically from Washington to each data
 collector's penpad.   After completing collection the field staff transmit
 data back to Washington.  This electronic collection provides numerous
 benefits.  Many data edits can take place during collection.  The accuracy
 and efficiency of data entry and review are improved by having field staff
 directly enter data rather than filling out paper survey forms by hand for
 later computer input by clerical staff.  The progress of data collection
 also can be monitored more effectively throughout the month.
    
    Lastly, the introduction of CADC reduces the time required to transmit
 and process data.  With electronic collection and transmission, the CPI
 will be able to eliminate the mailing and data entry functions, allowing
 the BLS to collect prices during the entire index month without
 compromising the timeliness of the CPI release, which takes place during
 the middle of the subsequent month.

    CPI data collection is scheduled in terms of business days--weekdays
 excluding holidays.  Currently, data collection covers three pricing
 periods, each comprising six business days in most months and five days in
 November and December.  Consequently, the last day of scheduled data
 collection is usually the 18th business day of the month.  This has
 allowed time during the end of the month for the mailing of paper
 schedules back to the Washington Office and the data entry of the
 information on these schedules.  Starting in January 2004, the three
 pricing periods will have variable lengths, between six and eight business
 days long.  The third pricing period now normally will end on the last
 business day of the month.

 ____________________________________________________________________________


 Facilities for Sensory Impaired

      Information from this release will be made available to sensory
 impaired individuals upon request.  Voice phone:  202-691-5200, Federal
 Relay Services:  1-800-877-8339.  For a recorded message of Summary CPI
 data, call (202) 691-5200.
 
 ___________________________________________________________________________
 

 Brief Explanation of the CPI
 
     The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in
 prices over time of goods and services purchased by households.  The
 Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups:  (1)
 the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which covers
 households of wage earners and clerical workers that comprise
 approximately 32 percent of the total population and (2) the CPI for All
 Urban Consumers (CPI-U) and the Chained CPI for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-
 U), which cover approximately 87 percent of the total population and
 include in addition to wage earners and clerical worker households,
 groups such as professional, managerial, and technical workers, the self-
 employed, short-term workers, the unemployed, and retirees and others not
 in the labor force.
 
      The CPIs are based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, and fuels,
 transportation fares, charges for doctors' and dentists' services, drugs,
 and other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living.
 Prices are collected in 87 urban areas across the country from about
 50,000 housing units and approximately 23,000 retail establishments-
 department stores, supermarkets, hospitals, filling stations, and other
 types of stores and service establishments.  All taxes directly associated
 with the purchase and use of items are included in the index.  Prices of
 fuels and a few other items are obtained every month in all 87 locations.
 Prices of most other commodities and services are collected every month in
 the three largest geographic areas and every other month in other areas.
 Prices of most goods and services are obtained by personal visits or
 telephone calls of the Bureau's trained representatives.
 
      In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each
 location are averaged together with weights, which represent their
 importance in the spending of the appropriate population group.  Local
 data are then combined to obtain a U.S. city average.  For the CPI-U and
 CPI-W separate indexes are also published by size of city, by region of
 the country, for cross-classifications of regions and population-size
 classes, and for 27 local areas.  Area indexes do not measure differences
 in the level of prices among cities, they only measure the average change
 in prices for each area since the base period.  For the C-CPI-U data are
 issued only at the national level.  It is important to note that the CPI-U
 and CPI-W are considered final when released, but the C-CPI-U is issued in
 preliminary form and subject to two annual revisions.
 
      The index measures price change from a designed reference date.  For
 the CPI-U and the CPI-W the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100.0. The
 reference base for the C-CPI-U is December 1999 equals 100.
 An increase of 16.5 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown
 as 116.5.  This change can also be expressed in dollars as follows:  the
 price of a base period market basket of goods and services in the CPI has
 risen from $10 in 1982-84 to $11.65.
 
      For further details visit the CPI home page on the Internet at
 http://www.bls.gov/cpi/ or contact our CPI Information and Analysis
 Section on (202) 691-7000.
  
 ___________________________________________________________________________ 
 
  
       Calculating Index Changes
       
            Movements of the indexes from one month to another are
       usually expressed as percent changes rather than changes in index 
       points, because index point changes are affected by the level of 
       the index in relation to its base period while percent changes are 
       not.  The example below illustrates the computation of index point 
       and percent changes.
       
            Percent changes for 3-month and 6-month periods are expressed 
       as annual rates and are computed according to the standard formula 
       for compound growth rates.  These data indicate what the percent 
       change would be if the current rate were maintained for a 12-month 
       period.
       
         
                    Index Point Change
       
       CPI   					115.7
       Less previous index    			111.2
       Equals index point change  		4.5
       
       
                    Percent Change
       
       Index point difference			4.5
       Divided by the previous index		111.2
       Equals					0.040
       Results multiplied by one hundred	0.040 x 100
       Equals percent change			4.0

 __________________________________________________________________________


 Regions Defined
 
 The states in the four regions shown in Tables 3 and 6 are listed below.
 
 The Northeast--Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York,
 New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

 The Midwest--Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota,
 Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

 The South--Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky,
 Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South
 Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of
 Columbia.

 The West--Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana,
 Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

 _________________________________________________________________________


 A Note on Seasonally Adjusted and Unadjusted Data
 
   Because price data are used for different purposes by different groups,
 the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes seasonally adjusted as well as
 unadjusted changes each month.
   
   For analyzing general price trends in the economy, seasonally adjusted
 changes are usually preferred since they eliminate the effect of changes
 that normally occur at the same time and in about the same magnitude every
 year--such as price movements resulting from changing climatic conditions,
 production cycles, model changeovers, holidays, and sales.
   
   The unadjusted data are of primary interest to consumers concerned about
 the prices they actually pay.  Unadjusted data also are used extensively
 for escalation purposes.  Many collective bargaining contract agreements
 and pension plans, for example, tie compensation changes to the Consumer
 Price Index unadjusted for seasonal variation.
   
   Seasonal factors used in computing the seasonally adjusted indexes are
 derived by the X-12-ARIMA Seasonal Adjustment Method.  The updated
 seasonal data at the end of 1977 replaced data from 1967 through 1977.
 Subsequent annual updates have replaced 5 years of seasonal data; e.g.,
 data from 1998 through 2002 were replaced at the end of 2002.  In January
 2002, dependently seasonally adjusted series were revised for January 1987-
 December 2001 as a result of a change in the aggregation weights for
 dependently adjusted series. For further information, please see
 "Aggregation of Dependently Adjusted Seasonally Adjusted Series," in the
 October 2001 issue of the CPI Detailed Report.
   
   The seasonal movement of all items and 54 other aggregations is derived
 by combining the seasonal movement of 73 selected components.  Each year
 the seasonal status of every series is reevaluated based upon certain
 statistical criteria.  If any of the 73 components change their seasonal
 adjustment status from seasonally adjusted to not seasonally adjusted, not
 seasonally adjusted data will be used for the last 5 years, but the
 seasonally adjusted indexes will be used before that period.  Note: 44 of
 the 73 components are seasonally adjusted for 2003.
   
   Seasonally adjusted data, including the All items index levels, are
 subject to revision for up to five years after their original release.
 For this reason, BLS advises against the use of these data in escalation
 agreements.
 
   Effective with the calculation of the seasonal factors for 1990, the
 Bureau of Labor Statistics has used an enhanced seasonal adjustment
 procedure called Intervention Analysis Seasonal Adjustment for some CPI
 series.  Intervention Analysis Seasonal Adjustment allows for better
 estimates of seasonally adjusted data.  Extreme values and/or sharp
 movements which might distort the seasonal pattern are estimated and
 removed from the data prior to calculation of seasonal factors.  Beginning
 with the calculation of seasonal factors for 1996, X-12-ARIMA software was
 used for Intervention Analysis Seasonal Adjustment.
 
   For the fuel oil, natural gas, motor fuels, and educational books and
 supplies indexes, this procedure was used to offset the effects that
 extreme price volatility would otherwise have had on the estimates of
 seasonally adjusted data for those series.   For the Nonalcoholic
 beverages index, the procedure was used to offset the effects of a large
 increase in coffee prices due to adverse weather.  The procedure was used
 to account for unusual butter fat supply reductions and decreases in milk
 supply affecting the Fats and oils series.  For the Water and sewerage
 maintenance index, the procedure was used to account for a data collection
 anomaly and dry weather in California.  It was used to offset an increase
 in demand due to warmer than expected weather and increased rates to
 conserve supplies for Electricity.  For New vehicles, New cars, and New
 trucks, the procedure was used to offset the effects of a model changeover
 combined with financing incentives.
 
   For a complete list of series that used Intervention Analysis
 Seasonal Adjustment, a list of unusual events modeled for them, or for a
 description of intervention analysis please write to the Bureau of Labor
 Statistics, Division of Consumer Prices and Price Indexes, Washington, DC
 20212 or by calling Daniel Chow on (202) 691-6968 or sending e-mail to
 Chow_Dan@BLS.GOV.  If you have general questions about the CPI, please
 call our information staff at (202) 691-7000.    


 Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): U.S. city average, by expenditure category and commodity
 and service group

 (1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)
                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        
                                                                                   Unadjusted                           
                                                 Relative   Unadjusted indexes percent change to   Seasonally adjusted  
                                               importance,                      Dec. 2003 from-    percent change from- 
                     CPI-U                       December                                                               
                                                   2002       Nov.      Dec.                                            
                                                              2003      2003     Dec.     Nov.   Sep. to Oct. to Nov. to
                                                                                 2002     2003     Oct.    Nov.    Dec. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                        
             Expenditure category                                                                                       
                                                                                                                        
 All items ...................................    100.000     184.5     184.3      1.9     -0.1     0.0    -0.2     0.2 
 All items (1967=100) ........................          -     552.7     552.1        -        -       -       -       - 
                                                                                                                        
  Food and beverages .........................     15.583     182.9     184.1      3.5      0.7     0.6     0.4     0.6 
   Food ......................................     14.554     182.4     183.6      3.6      0.7     0.6     0.4     0.6 
    Food at home .............................      8.338     182.4     184.1      4.5      0.9     0.7     0.7     0.8 
     Cereals and bakery products .............      1.281     202.5     202.9      2.8      0.2    -0.2     0.1     0.2 
     Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs ..........      2.222     179.3     181.1     11.5      1.0     1.8     3.2     1.1 
     Dairy and related products (1)...........       .876     171.2     173.0      3.4      1.1     0.9    -0.3     1.1 
     Fruits and vegetables ...................      1.234     227.5     232.4      3.3      2.2     0.9     0.4     0.3 
     Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage                                                                                
         materials ...........................       .954     137.9     139.3     -0.4      1.0     0.5    -1.6     1.7 
     Other food at home ......................      1.771     162.0     163.0      1.2      0.6     0.1    -0.5     0.7 
      Sugar and sweets .......................       .314     161.7     161.0      1.2     -0.4     0.3     0.4    -0.7 
      Fats and oils ..........................       .252     157.3     157.7      3.2      0.3     1.0    -0.6     0.8 
      Other foods ............................      1.205     177.9     179.6      0.8      1.0    -0.1    -0.7     1.1 
       Other miscellaneous foods (1) (2)......       .287     109.0     109.8     -0.4      0.7    -0.3    -1.5     0.7 
    Food away from home (1)...................      6.216     183.8     184.3      2.3      0.3     0.3     0.3     0.3 
     Other food away from home (2)............       .388     122.7     122.9      2.6      0.2     0.4     0.3     0.4 
   Alcoholic beverages .......................      1.029     188.6     188.7      2.1      0.1     0.1     0.3     0.3 
                                                                                                                        
  Housing ....................................     40.854     185.1     185.1      2.2      0.0     0.3    -0.1     0.3 
   Shelter ...................................     31.728     214.2     214.1      2.2      0.0     0.4     0.0     0.3 
    Rent of primary residence (3).............      6.467     207.5     207.9      2.7      0.2     0.0     0.2     0.2 
    Lodging away from home (2) (3)............      2.654     115.0     112.9      3.4     -1.8     2.3    -1.1     1.7 
    Owners' equivalent rent of primary                                                                                  
        residence (3) (4).....................     22.243     221.9     222.2      2.0      0.1     0.3     0.1     0.1 
    Tenants' and household insurance (1) (2)..       .365     114.3     114.3      1.8      0.0     0.1    -1.5     0.0 
   Fuels and utilities .......................      4.469     152.9     153.6      6.5      0.5    -0.8    -0.9     0.5 
    Fuels ....................................      3.604     135.7     136.5      7.1      0.6    -1.1    -1.2     0.6 
     Fuel oil and other fuels ................       .205     134.8     137.0      9.1      1.6    -1.3     1.1    -0.4 
     Gas (piped) and electricity (3)..........      3.399     142.6     143.3      6.9      0.5    -1.1    -1.4     0.6 
    Water and sewer and trash collection                                                                                
        services (2)..........................       .864     119.4     119.8      4.5      0.3     0.5     0.6     0.3 
   Household furnishings and operations ......      4.658     124.9     124.7     -1.8     -0.2     0.2    -0.3     0.2 
    Household operations (1) (2)..............       .820     122.4     122.6      2.3      0.2     0.2    -0.2     0.2 
                                                                                                                        
  Apparel ....................................      4.220     123.1     119.0     -2.1     -3.3     0.2    -0.5    -0.4 
   Men's and boys' apparel ...................      1.065     121.4     118.0     -1.1     -2.8     0.3     0.3    -0.2 
   Women's and girls' apparel ................      1.738     115.7     110.9     -1.9     -4.1     1.0    -1.1    -0.4 
   Infants' and toddlers' apparel ............       .193     123.0     119.2     -4.9     -3.1    -0.9    -1.9    -1.6 
   Footwear ..................................       .853     121.0     118.5     -1.8     -2.1    -0.1    -0.3    -0.3 
                                                                                                                        
  Transportation .............................     17.293     155.7     154.7      0.3     -0.6    -1.6    -1.3    -0.2 
   Private transportation ....................     16.121     151.7     150.8      0.3     -0.6    -1.7    -1.4    -0.1 
    New and used motor vehicles (2)...........      8.170      94.6      94.4     -4.4     -0.2    -0.7    -0.4    -0.4 
     New vehicles ............................      4.864     137.5     138.0     -1.8      0.4    -0.3     0.0     0.0 
     Used cars and trucks ....................      2.025     132.0     131.0    -11.8     -0.8    -3.0    -2.3    -0.7 
    Motor fuel ...............................      3.119     131.2     127.8      6.8     -2.6    -6.8    -4.9    -0.2 
     Gasoline (all types) ....................      3.091     130.6     127.2      6.8     -2.6    -6.8    -5.0    -0.1 
    Motor vehicle parts and equipment (1).....       .416     107.9     107.7      0.7     -0.2     0.2     0.0    -0.2 
    Motor vehicle maintenance and repair .....      1.418     197.2     198.0      2.4      0.4     0.2     0.3     0.6 
   Public transportation .....................      1.172     207.9     205.6      1.3     -1.1     1.1    -0.5    -1.1 
                                                                                                                        
  Medical care ...............................      5.961     300.8     302.1      3.7      0.4     0.3     0.3     0.6 
   Medical care commodities ..................      1.387     264.0     265.0      2.1      0.4     0.1    -0.3     0.4 
   Medical care services .....................      4.574     310.6     311.9      4.2      0.4     0.4     0.5     0.6 
    Professional services (3).................      2.808     263.0     264.1      2.8      0.4     0.3     0.1     0.5 
    Hospital and related services (3).........      1.451     405.6     407.0      6.4      0.3     0.3     1.2     0.6 
                                                                                                                        
  Recreation (2)..............................      5.943     107.8     107.7      1.1     -0.1     0.0     0.1     0.0 
   Video and audio (2)........................      1.638     103.8     103.3      0.1     -0.5     0.2     0.1    -0.3 
                                                                                                                        
  Education and communication (2).............      5.798     110.8     110.9      1.6      0.1     0.0     0.1     0.4 
   Education (2)..............................      2.835     139.0     139.4      7.2      0.3     0.4     0.4     0.7 
    Educational books and supplies ...........       .236     336.0     342.8      6.0      2.0     0.5    -0.7     2.6 
    Tuition, other school fees, and childcare       2.599     401.2     401.7      7.4      0.1     0.4     0.4     0.5 
   Communication (2)..........................      2.963      88.2      88.2     -3.9      0.0    -0.2    -0.2     0.0 
    Information and information processing (1)                                                                          
        (2)...................................      2.765      86.2      86.2     -4.2      0.0    -0.3    -0.2     0.0 
     Telephone services (1) (2)...............      2.273      97.2      97.2     -2.7      0.0    -0.3     0.1     0.0 
     Information and information processing                                                                             
         other than telephone services (1) (5)       .492      15.4      15.3    -11.0     -0.6     0.0    -1.3    -0.6 
      Personal computers and peripheral                                                                                 
          equipment (1) (2)...................       .210      16.3      16.2    -17.8     -0.6     1.2    -1.2    -0.6 
                                                                                                                        
  Other goods and services ...................      4.350     300.0     300.2      1.5      0.1     0.1    -0.1     0.1 
   Tobacco and smoking products (1)...........       .992     469.1     470.4     -0.4      0.3     0.2    -0.1     0.3 
   Personal care (1)..........................      3.358     179.0     179.0      2.1      0.0     0.1    -0.1     0.0 
    Personal care products (1)................       .680     153.2     153.4      0.0      0.1     0.1    -0.3     0.1 
    Personal care services (1)................       .897     194.2     194.3      2.3      0.1     0.1    -0.7     0.1 
    Miscellaneous personal services ..........      1.573     287.0     287.1      3.7      0.0     0.1     0.6     0.1 
                                                                                                                        
          Commodity and service group                                                                                   
                                                                                                                        
 Commodities .................................     40.822     150.9     150.4      0.5     -0.3    -0.6    -0.5     0.1 
  Food and beverages .........................     15.583     182.9     184.1      3.5      0.7     0.6     0.4     0.6 
  Commodities less food and beverages ........     25.239     132.9     131.7     -1.4     -0.9    -1.3    -1.0    -0.2 
   Nondurables less food and beverages .......     13.824     149.0     146.7      1.0     -1.5    -1.4    -0.5     0.5 
    Apparel ..................................      4.220     123.1     119.0     -2.1     -3.3     0.2    -0.5    -0.4 
    Nondurables less food, beverages, and                                                                               
        apparel ..............................      9.604     169.1     167.7      2.3     -0.8    -2.6    -1.6    -0.2 
   Durables ..................................     11.416     115.1     115.0     -4.3     -0.1    -0.7    -0.5    -0.2 
 Services ....................................     59.178     217.9     217.9      2.8      0.0     0.3     0.0     0.2 
  Rent of shelter (4).........................     31.364     223.0     222.9      2.2      0.0     0.4     0.1     0.2 
  Tenants' and household insurance (1) (2)....       .365     114.3     114.3      1.8      0.0     0.1    -1.5     0.0 
  Gas (piped) and electricity (3).............      3.399     142.6     143.3      6.9      0.5    -1.1    -1.4     0.6 
  Water and sewer and trash collection                                                                                  
      services (2)............................       .864     119.4     119.8      4.5      0.3     0.5     0.6     0.3 
  Household operations (1) (2)................       .820     122.4     122.6      2.3      0.2     0.2    -0.2     0.2 
  Transportation services ....................      6.722     218.6     217.7      2.7     -0.4     0.8    -0.2    -0.3 
  Medical care services ......................      4.574     310.6     311.9      4.2      0.4     0.4     0.5     0.6 
  Other services .............................     11.071     257.3     257.4      2.9      0.0     0.1     0.2     0.2 
                                                                                                                        
                Special indexes                                                                                         
                                                                                                                        
 All items less food .........................     85.446     184.9     184.4      1.5     -0.3    -0.2    -0.3     0.2 
 All items less shelter ......................     68.272     174.9     174.7      1.7     -0.1    -0.3    -0.3     0.2 
 All items less medical care .................     94.039     178.5     178.2      1.8     -0.2    -0.1    -0.3     0.2 
 Commodities less food .......................     26.268     135.0     133.8     -1.3     -0.9    -1.2    -1.0    -0.1 
 Nondurables less food .......................     14.853     151.3     149.2      1.1     -1.4    -1.3    -0.5     0.5 
 Nondurables less food and apparel ...........     10.633     170.0     168.8      2.3     -0.7    -2.0    -1.6     0.0 
 Nondurables .................................     29.406     166.1     165.4      2.4     -0.4    -0.5     0.1     0.5 
 Services less rent of shelter (4)............     27.815     228.2     228.4      3.6      0.1     0.1     0.0     0.2 
 Services less medical care services .........     54.604     209.9     209.9      2.7      0.0     0.3     0.0     0.1 
 Energy ......................................      6.723     133.1     131.8      6.9     -1.0    -3.9    -3.0     0.2 
 All items less energy .......................     93.277     191.6     191.5      1.5     -0.1     0.3     0.0     0.2 
  All items less food and energy .............     78.724     193.9     193.6      1.1     -0.2     0.2    -0.1     0.1 
   Commodities less food and energy                                                                                     
       commodities ...........................     22.945     139.9     139.0     -2.5     -0.6    -0.3    -0.4    -0.1 
    Energy commodities .......................      3.324     132.1     129.0      6.9     -2.3    -6.6    -4.4    -0.2 
   Services less energy services .............     55.779     225.6     225.5      2.6      0.0     0.4     0.0     0.2 
 Purchasing power of the consumer dollar                                                                                
     (1982-84=$1.00) .........................          -    $ .542    $ .543        -        -       -       -       - 
 Purchasing power of the consumer dollar                                                                                
     (1967=$1.00) ............................          -    $ .181    $ .181        -        -       -       -       - 

   1 Not seasonally adjusted.
   2 Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
   3 This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator.  All other item stratum index series converted to a
 geometric means estimator in January, 1999.
   4 Indexes on a December 1982=100 base.
   5 Indexes on a December 1988=100 base.
   - Data not available.
 NOTE:  Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

 Table 2. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Seasonally adjusted U.S. city average, by expenditure
 category and commodity and service group

 (1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)
                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        
                                                 Seasonally adjusted indexes    Seasonally adjusted annual rate percent 
                                                                                               change for               
                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        
                     CPI-U                                                           3 months ended--         6 months  
                                                                                                              ended--   
                                                 Sep.    Oct.    Nov.    Dec.                                           
                                                 2003    2003    2003    2003                                           
                                                                                Mar.   June   Sep.   Dec.   June   Dec. 
                                                                                2003   2003   2003   2003   2003   2003 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                        
             Expenditure category                                                                                       
                                                                                                                        
 All items ...................................  185.0   185.0   184.6   185.0    5.2   -0.7    3.1    0.0    2.2    1.5 
                                                                                                                        
  Food and beverages .........................  181.3   182.3   183.1   184.2    2.5    2.7    2.2    6.6    2.6    4.4 
   Food ......................................  180.8   181.8   182.6   183.7    2.7    2.7    2.5    6.6    2.7    4.5 
    Food at home .............................  180.3   181.6   182.8   184.3    3.0    3.4    2.7    9.2    3.2    5.9 
     Cereals and bakery products .............  203.5   203.1   203.3   203.7    9.6    0.8    0.8    0.4    5.1    0.6 
     Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs ..........  170.4   173.4   178.9   180.9    6.8    6.2    7.1   27.0    6.5   16.6 
     Dairy and related products (1)...........  170.3   171.8   171.2   173.0   -0.5   -7.4   16.6    6.5   -4.0   11.4 
     Fruits and vegetables ...................  227.0   229.0   230.0   230.7   -1.2   11.6   -3.1    6.7    5.0    1.7 
     Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage                                                                                
         materials ...........................  139.5   140.2   138.0   140.3   -3.9    5.0   -4.2    2.3    0.4   -1.0 
     Other food at home ......................  163.0   163.2   162.4   163.5    1.7    2.0   -0.5    1.2    1.9    0.4 
      Sugar and sweets .......................  162.2   162.7   163.3   162.1    4.6    1.7   -1.5   -0.2    3.1   -0.9 
      Fats and oils ..........................  157.3   158.9   157.9   159.1    9.4   -2.3    1.3    4.7    3.4    3.0 
      Other foods ............................  179.4   179.2   177.9   179.8   -0.2    2.9   -0.7    0.9    1.3    0.1 
       Other miscellaneous foods (1) (2)......  111.0   110.7   109.0   109.8   -0.4    5.2   -1.8   -4.3    2.4   -3.0 
    Food away from home (1)...................  182.8   183.3   183.8   184.3    2.0    2.0    2.0    3.3    2.0    2.7 
     Other food away from home (2)............  121.3   121.8   122.2   122.7    3.7    3.7   -1.6    4.7    3.7    1.5 
   Alcoholic beverages .......................  188.0   188.1   188.6   189.1    2.8    1.1    1.9    2.4    2.0    2.1 
                                                                                                                        
  Housing ....................................  185.4   185.9   185.7   186.2    4.2    1.5    1.3    1.7    2.9    1.5 
   Shelter ...................................  214.0   214.9   214.9   215.5    1.1    2.5    2.5    2.8    1.8    2.7 
    Rent of primary residence (3).............  206.8   206.9   207.3   207.7    3.2    3.0    2.8    1.8    3.1    2.3 
    Lodging away from home (2) (3)............  119.4   122.2   120.8   122.9  -11.3   14.6    0.0   12.3    0.8    5.9 
    Owners' equivalent rent of primary                                                                                  
        residence (3) (4).....................  220.7   221.4   221.7   222.0    2.2    0.7    2.6    2.4    1.5    2.5 
    Tenants' and household insurance (1) (2)..  115.9   116.0   114.3   114.3    6.2    4.3    2.5   -5.4    5.2   -1.6 
   Fuels and utilities .......................  156.5   155.2   153.8   154.6   36.0   -1.3    0.3   -4.8   15.9   -2.3 
    Fuels ....................................  140.0   138.4   136.7   137.5   44.5   -2.0   -1.1   -7.0   19.0   -4.1 
     Fuel oil and other fuels ................  135.0   133.3   134.8   134.2  215.3  -54.4    0.9   -2.3   19.9   -0.7 
     Gas (piped) and electricity (3)..........  147.4   145.8   143.7   144.6   37.4    3.0   -1.3   -7.4   19.0   -4.4 
    Water and sewer and trash collection                                                                                
        services (2)..........................  118.3   118.9   119.6   120.0    3.2    3.5    6.0    5.9    3.3    5.9 
   Household furnishings and operations ......  125.0   125.3   124.9   125.1   -0.9   -3.1   -3.4    0.3   -2.0   -1.6 
    Household operations (1) (2)..............  122.3   122.6   122.4   122.6    5.8    0.7    1.7    1.0    3.2    1.3 
                                                                                                                        
  Apparel ....................................  121.2   121.5   120.9   120.4   -5.7   -2.0    2.3   -2.6   -3.9   -0.2 
   Men's and boys' apparel ...................  117.9   118.3   118.7   118.5    2.4  -12.3    4.9    2.1   -5.3    3.5 
   Women's and girls' apparel ................  113.1   114.2   113.0   112.6   -7.1    1.1    0.0   -1.8   -3.1   -0.9 
   Infants' and toddlers' apparel ............  124.5   123.4   121.1   119.2   -8.9   -0.7    7.7  -16.0   -4.9   -4.8 
   Footwear ..................................  120.1   120.0   119.6   119.2   -8.6    2.4    2.4   -3.0   -3.3   -0.3 
                                                                                                                        
  Transportation .............................  160.0   157.5   155.4   155.1   17.6  -10.3    9.0  -11.7    2.7   -1.9 
   Private transportation ....................  156.0   153.3   151.2   151.0   19.3  -11.7    9.5  -12.2    2.7   -2.0 
    New and used motor vehicles (2)...........   95.5    94.8    94.4    94.0   -1.2   -3.6   -6.4   -6.1   -2.4   -6.3 
     New vehicles ............................  137.6   137.2   137.2   137.2   -3.1   -3.1    0.0   -1.2   -3.1   -0.6 
     Used cars and trucks ....................  138.6   134.5   131.4   130.5    5.0   -5.8  -22.0  -21.4   -0.5  -21.7 
    Motor fuel ...............................  147.2   137.2   130.5   130.3  120.0  -43.5   70.1  -38.6   11.4    2.2 
     Gasoline (all types) ....................  146.7   136.7   129.9   129.8  120.8  -43.7   70.9  -38.7   11.5    2.4 
    Motor vehicle parts and equipment (1).....  107.7   107.9   107.9   107.7    3.4   -0.7    0.0    0.0    1.3    0.0 
    Motor vehicle maintenance and repair .....  196.2   196.5   197.0   198.2    1.2    2.5    1.9    4.1    1.9    3.0 
   Public transportation .....................  210.3   212.6   211.5   209.2   -1.9   12.8   -2.8   -2.1    5.2   -2.4 
                                                                                                                        
  Medical care ...............................  299.5   300.5   301.4   303.1    1.7    3.6    4.7    4.9    2.6    4.8 
   Medical care commodities ..................  264.9   265.2   264.5   265.5    2.2    0.3    5.1    0.9    1.2    3.0 
   Medical care services .....................  308.5   309.7   311.2   313.2    1.5    4.7    4.4    6.2    3.1    5.3 
    Professional services (3).................  262.6   263.5   263.8   265.2    0.9    3.8    2.5    4.0    2.3    3.2 
    Hospital and related services (3).........  400.0   401.1   406.0   408.6    3.8    5.4    7.8    8.9    4.6    8.3 
                                                                                                                        
  Recreation (2)..............................  107.8   107.8   107.9   107.9    2.3    1.1    0.7    0.4    1.7    0.6 
   Video and audio (2)........................  103.9   104.1   104.2   103.9   -1.9    0.8    1.6    0.0   -0.6    0.8 
                                                                                                                        
  Education and communication (2).............  110.2   110.2   110.3   110.7    2.2   -1.8    4.1    1.8    0.2    3.0 
   Education (2)..............................  136.9   137.4   137.9   138.8    6.7    5.9   10.9    5.7    6.3    8.3 
    Educational books and supplies ...........  336.5   338.3   336.0   344.6    8.9    4.8    1.0   10.0    6.8    5.4 
    Tuition, other school fees, and childcare   394.5   396.0   397.6   399.7    6.6    6.1   11.9    5.4    6.3    8.6 
   Communication (2)..........................   88.6    88.4    88.2    88.2   -2.2   -8.9   -2.7   -1.8   -5.6   -2.2 
    Information and information processing (1)                                                                          
        (2)...................................   86.7    86.4    86.2    86.2   -2.2   -9.9   -2.3   -2.3   -6.1   -2.3 
     Telephone services (1) (2)...............   97.4    97.1    97.2    97.2   -0.8   -8.5   -0.4   -0.8   -4.7   -0.6 
     Information and information processing                                                                             
         other than telephone services (1) (5)   15.6    15.6    15.4    15.3   -9.0  -13.5  -14.0   -7.5  -11.3  -10.8 
      Personal computers and peripheral                                                                                 
          equipment (1) (2)...................   16.3    16.5    16.3    16.2  -13.5  -28.0  -24.7   -2.4  -21.1  -14.3 
                                                                                                                        
  Other goods and services ...................  299.9   300.2   300.0   300.2    2.0    1.1    2.4    0.4    1.6    1.4 
   Tobacco and smoking products (1)...........  468.7   469.5   469.1   470.4   -4.4   -3.1    4.6    1.5   -3.8    3.0 
   Personal care (1)..........................  179.0   179.1   179.0   179.0    4.2    2.3    1.8    0.0    3.2    0.9 
    Personal care products (1)................  153.4   153.6   153.2   153.4   -0.3    1.3   -1.0    0.0    0.5   -0.5 
    Personal care services (1)................  195.4   195.6   194.2   194.3    3.8    2.3    5.5   -2.2    3.1    1.6 
    Miscellaneous personal services ..........  285.5   285.8   287.6   288.0    4.4    4.3    2.4    3.5    4.4    3.0 
                                                                                                                        
          Commodity and service group                                                                                   
                                                                                                                        
 Commodities .................................  152.1   151.2   150.5   150.7    7.7   -5.9    4.3   -3.6    0.7    0.3 
  Food and beverages .........................  181.3   182.3   183.1   184.2    2.5    2.7    2.2    6.6    2.6    4.4 
  Commodities less food and beverages ........  135.5   133.7   132.4   132.1   10.9  -10.6    5.5   -9.7   -0.4   -2.4 
   Nondurables less food and beverages .......  151.8   149.7   148.9   149.7   18.4  -21.1   18.2   -5.4   -3.3    5.7 
    Apparel ..................................  121.2   121.5   120.9   120.4   -5.7   -2.0    2.3   -2.6   -3.9   -0.2 
    Nondurables less food, beverages, and                                                                               
        apparel ..............................  176.4   171.9   169.2   168.9   37.9  -21.7   21.0  -16.0    3.9    0.8 
   Durables ..................................  116.1   115.3   114.7   114.5   -1.0   -4.0   -6.9   -5.4   -2.5   -6.2 
 Services ....................................  217.8   218.5   218.4   218.9    3.8    2.8    2.6    2.0    3.3    2.3 
  Rent of shelter (4).........................  222.8   223.7   223.9   224.3    1.5    2.4    2.4    2.7    1.9    2.5 
  Tenants' and household insurance (1) (2)....  115.9   116.0   114.3   114.3    6.2    4.3    2.5   -5.4    5.2   -1.6 
  Gas (piped) and electricity (3).............  147.4   145.8   143.7   144.6   37.4    3.0   -1.3   -7.4   19.0   -4.4 
  Water and sewer and trash collection                                                                                  
      services (2)............................  118.3   118.9   119.6   120.0    3.2    3.5    6.0    5.9    3.3    5.9 
  Household operations (1) (2)................  122.3   122.6   122.4   122.6    5.8    0.7    1.7    1.0    3.2    1.3 
  Transportation services ....................  217.5   219.3   218.8   218.1    2.5    5.9    1.3    1.1    4.2    1.2 
  Medical care services ......................  308.5   309.7   311.2   313.2    1.5    4.7    4.4    6.2    3.1    5.3 
  Other services .............................  256.3   256.6   257.0   257.5    3.7    1.6    4.3    1.9    2.7    3.1 
                                                                                                                        
                Special indexes                                                                                         
                                                                                                                        
 All items less food .........................  185.8   185.5   184.9   185.2    5.8   -1.3    3.3   -1.3    2.2    1.0 
 All items less shelter ......................  175.8   175.3   174.8   175.1    7.2   -2.3    3.7   -1.6    2.3    1.0 
 All items less medical care .................  179.1   179.0   178.5   178.9    5.6   -1.1    3.2   -0.4    2.2    1.4 
 Commodities less food .......................  137.4   135.7   134.4   134.2   10.7  -10.2    5.1   -9.0   -0.3   -2.2 
 Nondurables less food .......................  154.0   152.0   151.2   151.9   17.2  -19.8   16.9   -5.3   -3.0    5.2 
 Nondurables less food and apparel ...........  176.4   172.8   170.0   170.0   33.4  -20.0   19.0  -13.7    3.3    1.3 
 Nondurables .................................  166.8   166.0   166.1   166.9   10.7   -9.5    9.4    0.2    0.1    4.7 
 Services less rent of shelter (4)............  228.5   228.7   228.7   229.1    6.5    3.8    3.0    1.1    5.1    2.0 
 Services less medical care services .........  210.1   210.7   210.6   210.9    3.8    2.9    2.7    1.5    3.3    2.1 
 Energy ......................................  142.9   137.3   133.2   133.5   76.5  -24.5   27.8  -23.8   15.4   -1.3 
 All items less energy .......................  191.1   191.6   191.6   192.0    1.1    1.5    1.5    1.9    1.3    1.7 
  All items less food and energy .............  193.7   194.1   194.0   194.2    0.8    1.0    1.5    1.0    0.9    1.2 
   Commodities less food and energy                                                                                     
       commodities ...........................  140.2   139.8   139.3   139.2   -1.7   -3.1   -2.3   -2.8   -2.4   -2.5 
    Energy commodities .......................  147.3   137.6   131.5   131.2  125.0  -44.4   65.3  -37.1   11.9    2.0 
   Services less energy services .............  225.0   225.9   226.0   226.5    1.8    2.9    2.9    2.7    2.4    2.8 

   1 Not seasonally adjusted.
   2 Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
   3 This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator.  All other item stratum index series converted to a
 geometric means estimator in January, 1999.
   4 Indexes on a December 1982=100 base.
   5 Indexes on a December 1988=100 base.
 NOTE:  Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

 Table 3. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Selected areas, all items index 

 (1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                All items                                  
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
                                               Prici-           Indexes             Percent change to    Percent change to 
                     CPI-U                       ng                                  Dec. 2003 from--      Nov. 2003 from--  
                                               sched-                                                                      
                                                 ule   Sep.   Oct.   Nov.   Dec.                                           
                                                 (1)   2003   2003   2003   2003   Dec.   Oct.   Nov.   Nov.   Sep.   Oct. 
                                                                                   2002   2003   2003   2002   2003   2003 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                           
 U.S. city average ...........................   M    185.2  185.0  184.5  184.3    1.9   -0.4   -0.1    1.8   -0.4   -0.3 
                                                                                                                           
            Region and area size(2)                                                                                        
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
 Northeast urban .............................   M    195.0  195.4  195.1  194.9    2.8   -0.3   -0.1    2.6    0.1   -0.2 
   Size A -  More than 1,500,000 .............   M    197.3  197.7  197.3  197.1    3.0   -0.3   -0.1    2.9    0.0   -0.2 
   Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 (3).........   M    115.0  115.2  115.3  115.0    2.1   -0.2   -0.3    1.9    0.3    0.1 
                                                                                                                           
 Midwest urban ...............................   M    179.5  179.1  178.9  178.4    1.7   -0.4   -0.3    1.6   -0.3   -0.1 
   Size A   - More than 1,500,000 ............   M    182.0  181.7  181.4  180.9    1.7   -0.4   -0.3    1.7   -0.3   -0.2 
   Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 (3).........   M    113.9  113.6  113.6  113.3    1.7   -0.3   -0.3    1.7   -0.3    0.0 
   Size D -  Nonmetropolitan  (less than                                                                                   
       50,000) ...............................   M    172.3  171.8  171.4  171.5    1.2   -0.2    0.1    0.6   -0.5   -0.2 
                                                                                                                           
 South urban .................................   M    178.3  178.1  177.5  177.5    1.7   -0.3    0.0    1.5   -0.4   -0.3 
   Size A -  More than 1,500,000 .............   M    180.1  180.1  179.1  179.2    1.9   -0.5    0.1    1.7   -0.6   -0.6 
   Size B/C -  50,000 to 1,500,000 (3)........   M    113.8  113.6  113.3  113.3    1.5   -0.3    0.0    1.3   -0.4   -0.3 
   Size D -  Nonmetropolitan  (less than                                                                                   
       50,000) ...............................   M    176.3  175.6  175.4  175.1    1.6   -0.3   -0.2    1.4   -0.5   -0.1 
                                                                                                                           
 West urban ..................................   M    189.6  189.4  188.5  188.3    1.5   -0.6   -0.1    1.5   -0.6   -0.5 
   Size A   - More than 1,500,000 ............   M    192.3  191.9  191.0  190.6    1.4   -0.7   -0.2    1.4   -0.7   -0.5 
   Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 (3).........   M    115.6  115.5  114.9  115.2    1.9   -0.3    0.3    1.6   -0.6   -0.5 
                                                                                                                           
                 Size classes                                                                                              
                                                                                                                           
   A (4)......................................   M    169.6  169.5  168.9  168.7    2.0   -0.5   -0.1    1.9   -0.4   -0.4 
   B/C (3)....................................   M    114.3  114.1  113.9  113.8    1.7   -0.3   -0.1    1.5   -0.3   -0.2 
   D .........................................   M    177.4  176.9  176.6  176.5    1.6   -0.2   -0.1    1.2   -0.5   -0.2 
                                                                                                                           
            Selected local areas(5)                                                                                        
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
 Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI ..............   M    186.1  185.8  185.6  185.5    1.7   -0.2   -0.1    1.3   -0.3   -0.1 
 Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA .....   M    188.2  187.8  187.1  187.0    1.8   -0.4   -0.1    1.7   -0.6   -0.4 
 New York-Northern N.J.-Long Island,                                                                                       
     NY-NJ-CT-PA .............................   M    199.6  200.0  199.4  199.3    3.2   -0.4   -0.1    3.1   -0.1   -0.3 
                                                                                                                           
 Boston-Brockton-Nashua, MA-NH-ME-CT .........   1    206.8      -  206.5      -      -      -      -    3.0   -0.1      - 
 Cleveland-Akron, OH .........................   1    178.5      -  177.6      -      -      -      -    2.4   -0.5      - 
 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX .......................   1    177.0      -  175.9      -      -      -      -    1.3   -0.6      - 
 Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV (6)........   1    117.2      -  116.7      -      -      -      -    2.4   -0.4      - 
                                                                                                                           
 Atlanta, GA .................................   2        -  180.1      -  179.0    1.0   -0.6      -      -      -      - 
 Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI .................   2        -  183.3      -  181.3    0.9   -1.1      -      -      -      - 
 Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX ..............   2        -  166.1      -  164.1    2.7   -1.2      -      -      -      - 
 Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL ...................   2        -  181.6      -  181.6    2.1    0.0      -      -      -      - 
 Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City,                                                                                    
     PA-NJ-DE-MD .............................   2        -  190.3      -  189.0    2.0   -0.7      -      -      -      - 
 San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA ..........   2        -  196.3      -  195.3    1.1   -0.5      -      -      -      - 
 Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA ................   2        -  193.7      -  191.0    0.5   -1.4      -      -      -      - 

   1 Areas on pricing schedule 2 (see Table 10) will appear next month. 
   2 Regions defined as the four Census regions.  See technical notes.
   3 Indexes on a December 1996=100 base.
   4 Indexes on a December 1986=100 base.
   5 In addition, the following metropolitan areas are published semiannually and appear in Tables 34 and 39 of the 
 January and July issues of the CPI Detailed Report: Anchorage, AK; Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH-KY-IN; Denver-Boulder-Greeley,
 CO; Honolulu, HI; Kansas City, MO-KS; Milwaukee-Racine, WI; Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI; Phoenix-Mesa, AZ; Pittsburgh, PA;
 Portland-Salem, OR-WA; St. Louis, MO-IL; San Diego, CA; Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL.
   6 Indexes on a November 1996=100 base.
   - Data not available.
 NOTE:  Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

 Table 4. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W): U.S. city average, by expenditure
 category and commodity and service group

 (1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)
                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        
                                                                                   Unadjusted                           
                                                 Relative   Unadjusted indexes percent change to   Seasonally adjusted  
                                               importance,                      Dec. 2003 from-    percent change from- 
                     CPI-W                       December                                                               
                                                   2002       Nov.      Dec.                                            
                                                              2003      2003     Dec.     Nov.   Sep. to Oct. to Nov. to
                                                                                 2002     2003     Oct.    Nov.    Dec. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                        
             Expenditure category                                                                                       
                                                                                                                        
 All items ...................................    100.000     180.2     179.9      1.6     -0.2    -0.2    -0.3     0.2 
 All items (1967=100) ........................          -     536.7     536.0        -        -       -       -       - 
                                                                                                                        
  Food and beverages .........................     17.072     182.4     183.6      3.7      0.7     0.6     0.5     0.5 
   Food ......................................     16.071     181.9     183.1      3.7      0.7     0.6     0.5     0.6 
    Food at home .............................      9.646     181.6     183.3      4.7      0.9     0.7     0.7     0.8 
     Cereals and bakery products .............      1.449     202.4     202.9      2.9      0.2    -0.2     0.0     0.2 
     Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs ..........      2.773     179.2     181.0     11.5      1.0     1.8     3.2     1.2 
     Dairy and related products (1)...........       .977     171.0     172.7      3.3      1.0     0.9    -0.4     1.0 
     Fruits and vegetables ...................      1.337     225.3     229.7      3.1      2.0     0.9     0.2     0.2 
     Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage                                                                                
         materials ...........................      1.118     137.3     138.6     -0.4      0.9     0.4    -1.4     1.5 
     Other food at home ......................      1.992     161.6     162.5      1.2      0.6     0.1    -0.6     0.7 
      Sugar and sweets .......................       .337     161.4     160.5      1.0     -0.6     0.3     0.4    -0.9 
      Fats and oils ..........................       .302     157.3     157.7      3.1      0.3     1.1    -0.6     0.6 
      Other foods ............................      1.353     178.3     180.0      0.8      1.0    -0.3    -0.8     1.1 
       Other miscellaneous foods (1) (2)......       .308     109.5     110.3     -0.4      0.7    -0.1    -1.5     0.7 
    Food away from home (1)...................      6.425     183.7     184.2      2.3      0.3     0.3     0.2     0.3 
     Other food away from home (2)............       .278     122.9     123.1      2.5      0.2     0.5     0.3     0.4 
   Alcoholic beverages .......................      1.001     188.8     188.9      2.3      0.1     0.2     0.3     0.2 
                                                                                                                        
  Housing ....................................     38.134     180.9     181.0      2.3      0.1     0.2    -0.1     0.3 
   Shelter ...................................     29.422     208.2     208.2      2.1      0.0     0.3     0.0     0.2 
    Rent of primary residence (3).............      8.456     206.6     207.0      2.5      0.2     0.1     0.1     0.2 
    Lodging away from home (2) (3)............      1.499     116.2     113.4      3.5     -2.4     1.8    -0.9     1.2 
    Owners' equivalent rent of primary                                                                                  
        residence (3) (4).....................     19.144     201.4     201.7      1.9      0.1     0.3     0.1     0.1 
    Tenants' and household insurance (1) (2)..       .323     114.4     114.4      1.9      0.0     0.2    -1.4     0.0 
   Fuels and utilities .......................      4.783     152.3     153.0      6.6      0.5    -0.8    -0.9     0.5 
    Fuels ....................................      3.902     134.7     135.4      7.1      0.5    -1.2    -1.2     0.6 
     Fuel oil and other fuels ................       .192     134.4     136.2      9.0      1.3    -1.0     1.4    -0.6 
     Gas (piped) and electricity (3)..........      3.710     141.9     142.5      7.0      0.4    -1.2    -1.3     0.6 
    Water and sewer and trash collection                                                                                
        services (2)..........................       .880     119.5     119.9      4.6      0.3     0.5     0.5     0.3 
   Household furnishings and operations ......      3.929     120.7     120.4     -2.1     -0.2     0.1    -0.2     0.1 
    Household operations (1) (2)..............       .357     123.7     123.8      2.5      0.1     0.2     0.0     0.1 
                                                                                                                        
  Apparel ....................................      4.638     122.6     118.7     -1.8     -3.2     0.4    -0.5    -0.2 
   Men's and boys' apparel ...................      1.176     121.1     117.8     -0.8     -2.7     0.3     0.8    -0.1 
   Women's and girls' apparel ................      1.801     115.3     110.5     -1.6     -4.2     1.1    -1.0    -0.4 
   Infants' and toddlers' apparel ............       .244     125.0     121.4     -4.6     -2.9    -0.7    -2.5    -1.1 
   Footwear ..................................      1.136     120.4     117.8     -2.5     -2.2     0.0    -0.6    -0.4 
                                                                                                                        
  Transportation .............................     19.666     153.6     152.5     -0.3     -0.7    -1.8    -1.7    -0.3 
   Private transportation ....................     18.751     150.8     149.7     -0.5     -0.7    -2.0    -1.7    -0.2 
    New and used motor vehicles (2)...........      9.568      93.1      92.8     -5.8     -0.3    -1.3    -0.7    -0.4 
     New vehicles ............................      4.682     138.7     139.2     -1.8      0.4    -0.4     0.1    -0.1 
     Used cars and trucks ....................      3.783     132.8     131.7    -11.8     -0.8    -2.9    -2.4    -0.6 
    Motor fuel ...............................      3.836     131.5     128.1      6.8     -2.6    -6.6    -5.2    -0.2 
     Gasoline (all types) ....................      3.803     130.9     127.6      6.9     -2.5    -6.6    -5.2    -0.2 
    Motor vehicle parts and equipment (1).....       .524     107.5     107.3      0.9     -0.2     0.3     0.0    -0.2 
    Motor vehicle maintenance and repair .....      1.458     198.9     199.8      2.5      0.5     0.3     0.2     0.7 
   Public transportation .....................       .915     205.8     203.6      2.2     -1.1     1.1    -0.5    -1.1 
                                                                                                                        
  Medical care ...............................      4.747     300.1     301.4      3.7      0.4     0.4     0.3     0.6 
   Medical care commodities ..................      1.012     258.5     259.4      2.1      0.3     0.1    -0.3     0.4 
   Medical care services .....................      3.735     310.6     311.9      4.1      0.4     0.5     0.5     0.6 
    Professional services (3).................      2.265     265.2     266.5      2.8      0.5     0.4     0.1     0.6 
    Hospital and related services (3).........      1.177     402.4     403.4      6.4      0.2     0.5     1.2     0.4 
                                                                                                                        
  Recreation (2)..............................      5.567     105.6     105.5      0.8     -0.1    -0.1     0.3    -0.1 
   Video and audio (2)........................      1.795     103.0     102.5      0.1     -0.5     0.2     0.2    -0.3 
                                                                                                                        
  Education and communication (2).............      5.604     109.6     109.7      0.8      0.1     0.0     0.1     0.3 
   Education (2)..............................      2.472     138.0     138.4      6.7      0.3     0.3     0.3     0.7 
    Educational books and supplies ...........       .217     337.5     343.8      5.9      1.9     0.4    -0.3     2.2 
    Tuition, other school fees, and childcare       2.256     390.2     390.7      6.7      0.1     0.3     0.3     0.5 
   Communication (2)..........................      3.132      89.8      89.7     -3.8     -0.1    -0.3    -0.1    -0.1 
    Information and information processing (1)                                                                          
        (2)...................................      2.972      88.4      88.3     -4.0     -0.1    -0.3    -0.1    -0.1 
     Telephone services (1) (2)...............      2.536      97.4      97.4     -2.7      0.0    -0.3     0.1     0.0 
     Information and information processing                                                                             
         other than telephone services (1) (5)       .436      15.9      15.8    -11.2     -0.6     0.6    -1.9    -0.6 
      Personal computers and peripheral                                                                                 
          equipment (1) (2)...................       .191      16.0      15.9    -17.6     -0.6     1.3    -1.2    -0.6 
                                                                                                                        
  Other goods and services ...................      4.571     307.7     308.1      1.0      0.1     0.1    -0.2     0.1 
   Tobacco and smoking products (1)...........      1.542     470.2     471.5     -0.6      0.3     0.2    -0.1     0.3 
   Personal care (1)..........................      3.030     177.7     177.8      1.8      0.1     0.1    -0.2     0.1 
    Personal care products (1)................       .786     153.8     154.0     -0.1      0.1     0.1    -0.2     0.1 
    Personal care services (1)................       .896     194.8     194.9      2.2      0.1     0.1    -0.8     0.1 
    Miscellaneous personal services ..........      1.170     286.7     286.6      3.6      0.0     0.1     0.4     0.2 
                                                                                                                        
          Commodity and service group                                                                                   
                                                                                                                        
 Commodities .................................     45.066     151.3     150.7      0.3     -0.4    -0.7    -0.5     0.1 
  Food and beverages .........................     17.072     182.4     183.6      3.7      0.7     0.6     0.5     0.5 
  Commodities less food and beverages ........     27.994     133.8     132.5     -1.9     -1.0    -1.5    -1.2    -0.2 
   Nondurables less food and beverages .......     15.152     151.4     149.0      1.2     -1.6    -1.4    -0.6     0.7 
    Apparel ..................................      4.638     122.6     118.7     -1.8     -3.2     0.4    -0.5    -0.2 
    Nondurables less food, beverages, and                                                                               
        apparel ..............................     10.514     172.9     171.3      2.5     -0.9    -2.7    -1.9    -0.1 
   Durables ..................................     12.842     114.2     114.0     -5.3     -0.2    -1.0    -0.7    -0.4 
 Services ....................................     54.934     214.1     214.2      2.8      0.0     0.2     0.0     0.2 
  Rent of shelter (4).........................     29.099     200.5     200.6      2.2      0.0     0.2     0.1     0.1 
  Tenants' and household insurance (1) (2)....       .323     114.4     114.4      1.9      0.0     0.2    -1.4     0.0 
  Gas (piped) and electricity (3).............      3.710     141.9     142.5      7.0      0.4    -1.2    -1.3     0.6 
  Water and sewer and trash collection                                                                                  
      services (2)............................       .880     119.5     119.9      4.6      0.3     0.5     0.5     0.3 
  Household operations (1) (2)................       .357     123.7     123.8      2.5      0.1     0.2     0.0     0.1 
  Transportation services ....................      6.706     218.8     218.0      3.0     -0.4     0.9    -0.3    -0.2 
  Medical care services ......................      3.735     310.6     311.9      4.1      0.4     0.5     0.5     0.6 
  Other services .............................     10.123     250.7     250.9      2.4      0.1     0.1     0.1     0.2 
                                                                                                                        
                Special indexes                                                                                         
                                                                                                                        
 All items less food .........................     83.929     179.7     179.2      1.2     -0.3    -0.3    -0.4     0.1 
 All items less shelter ......................     70.578     171.9     171.6      1.5     -0.2    -0.4    -0.4     0.2 
 All items less medical care .................     95.253     175.0     174.7      1.5     -0.2    -0.2    -0.3     0.2 
 Commodities less food .......................     28.995     135.8     134.5     -1.7     -1.0    -1.4    -1.2    -0.1 
 Nondurables less food .......................     16.153     153.7     151.4      1.2     -1.5    -1.3    -0.6     0.7 
 Nondurables less food and apparel ...........     11.514     173.6     172.1      2.4     -0.9    -2.3    -1.7     0.1 
 Nondurables .................................     32.224     167.3     166.6      2.5     -0.4    -0.3    -0.1     0.6 
 Services less rent of shelter (4)............     25.835     202.7     202.9      3.6      0.1     0.1    -0.1     0.2 
 Services less medical care services .........     51.199     206.5     206.6      2.7      0.0     0.1     0.0     0.1 
 Energy ......................................      7.738     132.4     131.1      6.9     -1.0    -4.0    -3.2     0.2 
 All items less energy .......................     92.262     187.0     186.9      1.2     -0.1     0.2     0.0     0.2 
  All items less food and energy .............     76.191     188.4     188.0      0.7     -0.2     0.1    -0.1     0.1 
   Commodities less food and energy                                                                                     
       commodities ...........................     24.967     139.7     138.7     -3.1     -0.7    -0.4    -0.4    -0.1 
    Energy commodities .......................      4.028     132.1     129.0      6.9     -2.3    -6.3    -5.0    -0.2 
   Services less energy services .............     51.224     222.1     222.1      2.5      0.0     0.4     0.0     0.2 
 Purchasing power of the consumer dollar                                                                                
     (1982-84=$1.00) .........................          -    $ .555    $ .556        -        -       -       -       - 
 Purchasing power of the consumer dollar                                                                                
     (1967=$1.00) ............................          -    $ .186    $ .187        -        -       -       -       - 

   1 Not seasonally adjusted.
   2 Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
   3 This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator.  All other item stratum index series converted to a
 geometric means estimator in January, 1999.
   4 Indexes on a December 1984=100 base
   5 Indexes on a December 1988=100 base.
   - Data not available.
 NOTE:  Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

 Table 5. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W): Seasonally adjusted U.S. city
 average, by expenditure category and commodity and service group

 (1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)
                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        
                                                 Seasonally adjusted indexes    Seasonally adjusted annual rate percent 
                                                                                               change for               
                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        
                     CPI-W                                                           3 months ended--         6 months  
                                                                                                              ended--   
                                                 Sep.    Oct.    Nov.    Dec.                                           
                                                 2003    2003    2003    2003                                           
                                                                                Mar.   June   Sep.   Dec.   June   Dec. 
                                                                                2003   2003   2003   2003   2003   2003 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                        
             Expenditure category                                                                                       
                                                                                                                        
 All items ...................................  180.9   180.6   180.1   180.4    6.2   -1.5    3.2   -1.1    2.3    1.0 
                                                                                                                        
  Food and beverages .........................  180.8   181.8   182.7   183.7    2.7    2.7    2.7    6.6    2.7    4.6 
   Food ......................................  180.2   181.3   182.2   183.3    2.5    2.7    2.7    7.1    2.6    4.9 
    Food at home .............................  179.5   180.8   182.0   183.5    3.0    3.4    3.2    9.2    3.2    6.2 
     Cereals and bakery products .............  203.7   203.2   203.2   203.7    9.6    1.0    1.4    0.0    5.2    0.7 
     Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs ..........  170.2   173.2   178.8   180.9    6.8    5.7    7.4   27.6    6.3   17.1 
     Dairy and related products (1)...........  170.2   171.7   171.0   172.7   -1.2   -7.5   17.4    6.0   -4.4   11.6 
     Fruits and vegetables ...................  225.5   227.5   227.9   228.4   -0.5   10.7   -2.8    5.2    4.9    1.1 
     Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage                                                                                
         materials ...........................  139.0   139.5   137.6   139.6   -5.0    5.9   -3.7    1.7    0.3   -1.0 
     Other food at home ......................  162.8   162.9   162.0   163.2    2.0    2.0    0.0    1.0    2.0    0.5 
      Sugar and sweets .......................  162.0   162.5   163.2   161.7    4.1    1.7   -1.0   -0.7    2.9   -0.9 
      Fats and oils ..........................  157.2   159.0   158.1   159.1    9.4   -2.5    1.0    4.9    3.3    3.0 
      Other foods ............................  180.2   179.7   178.3   180.3   -0.2    3.2    0.2    0.2    1.5    0.2 
       Other miscellaneous foods (1) (2)......  111.3   111.2   109.5   110.3   -0.7    5.9   -2.8   -3.5    2.5   -3.2 
    Food away from home (1)...................  182.7   183.3   183.7   184.2    2.2    1.6    2.2    3.3    1.9    2.8 
     Other food away from home (2)............  121.4   122.0   122.4   122.9    3.0    3.0   -1.3    5.0    3.0    1.8 
   Alcoholic beverages .......................  187.9   188.3   188.8   189.1    3.9    0.0    2.4    2.6    2.0    2.5 
                                                                                                                        
  Housing ....................................  181.1   181.4   181.2   181.7    5.0    1.1    1.6    1.3    3.1    1.4 
   Shelter ...................................  207.7   208.4   208.5   209.0    1.6    2.2    2.3    2.5    1.9    2.4 
    Rent of primary residence (3).............  205.8   206.1   206.4   206.8    3.0    2.8    2.4    2.0    2.9    2.2 
    Lodging away from home (2) (3)............  120.4   122.6   121.5   123.0   -8.8   12.6    2.4    8.9    1.4    5.6 
    Owners' equivalent rent of primary                                                                                  
        residence (3) (4).....................  200.4   201.0   201.2   201.5    2.0    0.8    2.4    2.2    1.4    2.3 
    Tenants' and household insurance (1) (2)..  115.8   116.0   114.4   114.4    5.5    4.3    2.8   -4.7    4.9   -1.0 
   Fuels and utilities .......................  155.9   154.6   153.2   154.0   35.5   -0.5    0.3   -4.8   16.1   -2.3 
    Fuels ....................................  138.9   137.3   135.7   136.5   43.3   -1.1   -0.9   -6.7   19.0   -3.8 
     Fuel oil and other fuels ................  134.4   133.0   134.9   134.1  202.4  -53.6    1.5   -0.9   18.5    0.3 
     Gas (piped) and electricity (3)..........  146.5   144.8   142.9   143.8   37.7    2.8   -0.8   -7.2   18.9   -4.0 
    Water and sewer and trash collection                                                                                
        services (2)..........................  118.4   119.0   119.6   120.0    3.9    3.1    6.0    5.5    3.5    5.7 
   Household furnishings and operations ......  120.8   120.9   120.7   120.8   -1.9   -3.2   -3.2    0.0   -2.6   -1.6 
    Household operations (1) (2)..............  123.4   123.7   123.7   123.8    5.7    0.7    2.3    1.3    3.2    1.8 
                                                                                                                        
  Apparel ....................................  120.3   120.8   120.2   119.9   -5.5   -2.0    2.0   -1.3   -3.7    0.3 
   Men's and boys' apparel ...................  117.2   117.6   118.5   118.4    2.0  -11.8    3.1    4.2   -5.1    3.6 
   Women's and girls' apparel ................  112.4   113.6   112.5   112.1   -7.8    2.5    0.4   -1.1   -2.8   -0.4 
   Infants' and toddlers' apparel ............  126.8   125.9   122.8   121.4   -9.1    0.6    7.9  -16.0   -4.4   -4.8 
   Footwear ..................................  119.4   119.4   118.7   118.2   -5.8   -1.7    1.7   -4.0   -3.8   -1.2 
                                                                                                                        
  Transportation .............................  158.7   155.8   153.2   152.8   19.9  -11.4    8.2  -14.1    3.0   -3.6 
   Private transportation ....................  155.9   152.8   150.2   149.9   21.2  -12.5    8.6  -14.5    2.9   -3.6 
    New and used motor vehicles (2)...........   94.7    93.5    92.8    92.4    0.0   -4.0   -9.5   -9.4   -2.0   -9.4 
     New vehicles ............................  138.8   138.3   138.5   138.4   -3.1   -3.4    0.6   -1.1   -3.2   -0.3 
     Used cars and trucks ....................  139.3   135.2   132.0   131.2    4.9   -5.7  -22.2  -21.3   -0.5  -21.7 
    Motor fuel ...............................  147.8   138.0   130.8   130.6  119.7  -43.0   70.2  -39.0   11.9    1.9 
     Gasoline (all types) ....................  147.2   137.5   130.3   130.0  118.6  -43.0   71.1  -39.2   11.7    2.0 
    Motor vehicle parts and equipment (1).....  107.2   107.5   107.5   107.3    3.4   -0.4    0.4    0.4    1.5    0.4 
    Motor vehicle maintenance and repair .....  197.9   198.4   198.7   200.0    1.4    2.5    1.8    4.3    2.0    3.1 
   Public transportation .....................  207.6   209.9   208.9   206.7   -1.2   15.3   -2.5   -1.7    6.7   -2.1 
                                                                                                                        
  Medical care ...............................  298.5   299.7   300.7   302.5    1.7    3.5    4.4    5.5    2.6    4.9 
   Medical care commodities ..................  259.4   259.7   259.0   260.0    2.5    0.0    5.3    0.9    1.3    3.1 
   Medical care services .....................  308.2   309.7   311.2   313.2    1.5    4.4    4.1    6.6    2.9    5.4 
    Professional services (3).................  264.7   265.7   266.0   267.5    0.8    3.9    2.1    4.3    2.3    3.2 
    Hospital and related services (3).........  396.1   397.9   402.8   404.6    3.9    5.1    7.6    8.9    4.5    8.2 
                                                                                                                        
  Recreation (2)..............................  105.6   105.5   105.8   105.7    1.1    0.4    0.8    0.4    0.8    0.6 
   Video and audio (2)........................  103.0   103.2   103.4   103.1   -1.5    0.4    1.2    0.4   -0.6    0.8 
                                                                                                                        
  Education and communication (2).............  109.1   109.1   109.2   109.5    1.5   -2.5    3.0    1.5   -0.6    2.2 
   Education (2)..............................  136.1   136.5   136.9   137.8    6.0    5.9    9.7    5.1    6.0    7.3 
    Educational books and supplies ...........  337.6   339.0   337.9   345.5    8.7    4.6    1.0    9.7    6.7    5.2 
    Tuition, other school fees, and childcare   384.2   385.5   386.7   388.8    5.8    6.0   10.4    4.9    5.9    7.6 
   Communication (2)..........................   90.2    89.9    89.8    89.7   -1.7   -8.7   -2.2   -2.2   -5.3   -2.2 
    Information and information processing (1)                                                                          
        (2)...................................   88.8    88.5    88.4    88.3   -1.7   -9.7   -2.2   -2.2   -5.8   -2.2 
     Telephone services (1) (2)...............   97.6    97.3    97.4    97.4   -0.8   -8.5   -0.4   -0.8   -4.7   -0.6 
     Information and information processing                                                                             
         other than telephone services (1) (5)   16.1    16.2    15.9    15.8   -8.7  -13.1  -15.7   -7.2  -10.9  -11.6 
      Personal computers and peripheral                                                                                 
          equipment (1) (2)...................   16.0    16.2    16.0    15.9  -13.7  -26.9  -25.1   -2.5  -20.6  -14.5 
                                                                                                                        
  Other goods and services ...................  307.9   308.2   307.7   308.1    0.7    0.5    2.5    0.3    0.6    1.4 
   Tobacco and smoking products (1)...........  469.9   470.7   470.2   471.5   -4.3   -3.6    4.5    1.4   -4.0    2.9 
   Personal care (1)..........................  177.9   178.0   177.7   177.8    3.2    2.5    1.6   -0.2    2.9    0.7 
    Personal care products (1)................  154.0   154.1   153.8   154.0   -1.0    1.6   -1.0    0.0    0.3   -0.5 
    Personal care services (1)................  196.1   196.3   194.8   194.9    3.6    2.3    5.5   -2.4    3.0    1.5 
    Miscellaneous personal services ..........  285.5   285.9   287.0   287.5    4.1    4.9    2.3    2.8    4.5    2.6 
                                                                                                                        
          Commodity and service group                                                                                   
                                                                                                                        
 Commodities .................................  152.8   151.7   150.9   151.0    8.8   -6.6    4.3   -4.6    0.8   -0.3 
  Food and beverages .........................  180.8   181.8   182.7   183.7    2.7    2.7    2.7    6.6    2.7    4.6 
  Commodities less food and beverages ........  136.8   134.8   133.2   132.9   12.4  -11.5    5.1  -10.9   -0.3   -3.2 
   Nondurables less food and beverages .......  154.4   152.2   151.3   152.4   19.9  -23.7   20.4   -5.1   -4.3    6.9 
    Apparel ..................................  120.3   120.8   120.2   119.9   -5.5   -2.0    2.0   -1.3   -3.7    0.3 
    Nondurables less food, beverages, and                                                                               
        apparel ..............................  181.0   176.2   172.9   172.7   41.9  -24.0   23.5  -17.1    3.8    1.2 
   Durables ..................................  115.9   114.7   113.9   113.5   -0.3   -4.6   -8.2   -8.0   -2.5   -8.1 
 Services ....................................  213.9   214.4   214.3   214.8    4.3    2.7    2.5    1.7    3.5    2.1 
  Rent of shelter (4).........................  200.1   200.6   200.9   201.2    1.8    1.6    2.8    2.2    1.7    2.5 
  Tenants' and household insurance (1) (2)....  115.8   116.0   114.4   114.4    5.5    4.3    2.8   -4.7    4.9   -1.0 
  Gas (piped) and electricity (3).............  146.5   144.8   142.9   143.8   37.7    2.8   -0.8   -7.2   18.9   -4.0 
  Water and sewer and trash collection                                                                                  
      services (2)............................  118.4   119.0   119.6   120.0    3.9    3.1    6.0    5.5    3.5    5.7 
  Household operations (1) (2)................  123.4   123.7   123.7   123.8    5.7    0.7    2.3    1.3    3.2    1.8 
  Transportation services ....................  217.5   219.4   218.7   218.2    3.1    6.5    1.3    1.3    4.8    1.3 
  Medical care services ......................  308.2   309.7   311.2   313.2    1.5    4.4    4.1    6.6    2.9    5.4 
  Other services .............................  250.0   250.2   250.4   251.0    3.1    1.0    3.8    1.6    2.0    2.7 
                                                                                                                        
                Special indexes                                                                                         
                                                                                                                        
 All items less food .........................  180.9   180.3   179.5   179.7    6.9   -2.4    3.4   -2.6    2.2    0.3 
 All items less shelter ......................  173.1   172.4   171.7   172.0    8.3   -3.0    3.5   -2.5    2.5    0.5 
 All items less medical care .................  175.8   175.4   174.9   175.2    6.4   -1.8    3.2   -1.4    2.2    0.9 
 Commodities less food .......................  138.7   136.7   135.1   134.9   12.2  -11.1    5.1  -10.5   -0.1   -3.0 
 Nondurables less food .......................  156.5   154.5   153.5   154.6   19.3  -23.0   19.8   -4.8   -4.1    6.8 
 Nondurables less food and apparel ...........  180.7   176.6   173.6   173.7   37.7  -22.8   21.5  -14.6    3.1    1.9 
 Nondurables .................................  167.9   167.4   167.3   168.3   10.9  -10.9   10.4    1.0   -0.6    5.6 
 Services less rent of shelter (4)............  203.1   203.4   203.1   203.5    7.1    3.4    3.0    0.8    5.3    1.9 
 Services less medical care services .........  206.6   206.9   206.9   207.2    4.4    2.4    2.8    1.2    3.4    2.0 
 Energy ......................................  142.7   137.0   132.6   132.8   78.6  -25.3   30.2  -25.0   15.5   -1.2 
 All items less energy .......................  186.5   186.8   186.8   187.2    1.3    1.1    1.1    1.5    1.2    1.3 
  All items less food and energy .............  188.2   188.4   188.2   188.3    0.9    0.9    0.6    0.2    0.9    0.4 
   Commodities less food and energy                                                                                     
       commodities ...........................  140.2   139.6   139.0   138.8   -1.4   -3.3   -3.6   -3.9   -2.4   -3.8 
    Energy commodities .......................  147.7   138.4   131.5   131.3  123.8  -43.7   66.1  -37.5   12.2    1.9 
   Services less energy services .............  221.3   222.2   222.3   222.7    2.2    2.4    2.8    2.6    2.3    2.7 

   1 Not seasonally adjusted.
   2 Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
   3 This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator.  All other item stratum index series converted to a
 geometric means estimator in January, 1999.
   4 Indexes on a December 1984=100 base
   5 Indexes on a December 1988=100 base.
 NOTE:  Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

 Table 6. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W): Selected areas, all items index 

 (1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                All items                                  
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
                                               Prici-           Indexes             Percent change to    Percent change to 
                     CPI-W                       ng                                  Dec. 2003 from--      Nov. 2003 from--  
                                               sched-                                                                      
                                                 ule   Sep.   Oct.   Nov.   Dec.                                           
                                                 (1)   2003   2003   2003   2003   Dec.   Oct.   Nov.   Nov.   Sep.   Oct. 
                                                                                   2002   2003   2003   2002   2003   2003 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                           
 U.S. city average ...........................   M    181.0  180.7  180.2  179.9    1.6   -0.4   -0.2    1.6   -0.4   -0.3 
                                                                                                                           
            Region and area size(2)                                                                                        
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
 Northeast urban .............................   M    191.9  192.1  191.9  191.7    2.7   -0.2   -0.1    2.7    0.0   -0.1 
   Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..............   M    193.0  193.2  192.8  192.7    3.0   -0.3   -0.1    2.9   -0.1   -0.2 
   Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 (3).........   M    115.1  115.3  115.4  115.2    2.2   -0.1   -0.2    2.0    0.3    0.1 
                                                                                                                           
 Midwest urban ...............................   M    174.6  174.1  173.9  173.4    1.4   -0.4   -0.3    1.3   -0.4   -0.1 
   Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..............   M    176.4  176.0  175.7  175.1    1.6   -0.5   -0.3    1.6   -0.4   -0.2 
   Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 (3).........   M    113.2  112.7  112.7  112.4    1.3   -0.3   -0.3    1.3   -0.4    0.0 
   Size D -  Nonmetropolitan  (less than                                                                                   
       50,000) ...............................   M    170.0  169.3  169.1  169.1    1.1   -0.1    0.0    0.5   -0.5   -0.1 
                                                                                                                           
 South urban .................................   M    175.3  174.9  174.3  174.2    1.3   -0.4   -0.1    1.1   -0.6   -0.3 
   Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..............   M    177.5  177.3  176.4  176.4    1.9   -0.5    0.0    1.8   -0.6   -0.5 
   Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 (3).........   M    112.4  112.1  111.9  111.8    0.9   -0.3   -0.1    0.7   -0.4   -0.2 
   Size D -  Nonmetropolitan  (less than                                                                                   
       50,000) ...............................   M    175.9  174.8  174.5  174.2    0.9   -0.3   -0.2    0.6   -0.8   -0.2 
                                                                                                                           
 West urban ..................................   M    185.0  184.4  183.5  183.3    1.4   -0.6   -0.1    1.4   -0.8   -0.5 
   Size A - More than 1,500,000 ..............   M    186.1  185.4  184.4  183.9    1.3   -0.8   -0.3    1.4   -0.9   -0.5 
   Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 (3).........   M    115.3  115.0  114.6  114.8    1.7   -0.2    0.2    1.5   -0.6   -0.3 
                                                                                                                           
                 Size classes                                                                                              
                                                                                                                           
   A (4)......................................   M    168.0  167.7  167.1  166.8    1.9   -0.5   -0.2    1.9   -0.5   -0.4 
   B/C (3)....................................   M    113.5  113.2  113.0  112.9    1.3   -0.3   -0.1    1.2   -0.4   -0.2 
   D .........................................   M    175.6  174.9  174.5  174.3    1.0   -0.3   -0.1    0.8   -0.6   -0.2 
                                                                                                                           
            Selected local areas(5)                                                                                        
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
 Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI ..............   M    179.8  179.1  179.1  178.8    1.6   -0.2   -0.2    1.2   -0.4    0.0 
 Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA .....   M    181.9  181.2  180.5  180.2    2.0   -0.6   -0.2    2.0   -0.8   -0.4 
 New York-Northern N.J.-Long Island,                                                                                       
     NY-NJ-CT-PA .............................   M    195.0  195.2  194.7  194.6    3.1   -0.3   -0.1    3.1   -0.2   -0.3 
                                                                                                                           
 Boston-Brockton-Nashua, MA-NH-ME-CT .........   1    206.2      -  205.6      -      -      -      -    3.2   -0.3      - 
 Cleveland-Akron, OH .........................   1    169.5      -  168.3      -      -      -      -    2.1   -0.7      - 
 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX .......................   1    176.7      -  175.6      -      -      -      -    1.5   -0.6      - 
 Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV (6)........   1    116.9      -  116.1      -      -      -      -    2.3   -0.7      - 
                                                                                                                           
 Atlanta, GA .................................   2        -  177.6      -  176.6    1.1   -0.6      -      -      -      - 
 Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI .................   2        -  178.2      -  175.9    0.9   -1.3      -      -      -      - 
 Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX ..............   2        -  164.0      -  162.2    2.7   -1.1      -      -      -      - 
 Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL ...................   2        -  179.0      -  178.9    2.1   -0.1      -      -      -      - 
 Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City,                                                                                    
     PA-NJ-DE-MD .............................   2        -  190.2      -  189.0    2.2   -0.6      -      -      -      - 
 San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA ..........   2        -  191.9      -  191.1    0.8   -0.4      -      -      -      - 
 Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA ................   2        -  187.8      -  185.3    0.4   -1.3      -      -      -      - 

   1 Areas on pricing schedule 2 (see Table 10) will appear next month. 
   2 Regions defined as the four Census regions.  See technical notes.
   3 Indexes on a December 1996=100 base.
   4 Indexes on a December 1986=100 base.
   5 In addition, the following metropolitan areas are published semiannually and appear in Tables 34 and 39 of the 
 January and July issues of the CPI Detailed Report: Anchorage, AK; Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH-KY-IN; Denver-Boulder-Greeley,
 CO; Honolulu, HI; Kansas City, MO-KS; Milwaukee-Racine, WI; Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI; Phoenix-Mesa, AZ; Pittsburgh, PA;
 Portland-Salem, OR-WA; St. Louis, MO-IL; San Diego, CA; Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL.
   6 Indexes on a November 1996=100 base.
   - Data not available.
 NOTE:  Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

 Table 7. Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U): U.S. city average, by
 expenditure category and commodity and service group

 (December 1999=100, unless otherwise noted)
                                                                                                  
                                                                                                  
                                                                                    Unadjusted    
                                                 Relative       Unadjusted      percent change to 
                                               importance,       indexes         Dec. 2003 from-  
                    C-CPI-U                     December                                          
                                                1999-2000                                         
                                                              Nov.      Dec.      Dec.      Nov.  
                                                              2003      2003      2002      2003  
                                                                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                  
             Expenditure category                                                                 
                                                                                                  
 All items ...................................    100.000     107.7     107.5       1.4      -0.2 
  Food and beverages .........................     15.451     109.3     110.0       3.3       0.6 
   Food ......................................     14.432     109.3     110.0       3.4       0.6 
    Food at home .............................      8.335     108.5     109.6       4.2       1.0 
    Food away from home ......................      6.096     110.2     110.5       2.3       0.3 
   Alcoholic beverages .......................      1.019     109.1     109.2       2.0       0.1 
  Housing ....................................     40.040     111.4     111.4       2.1       0.0 
   Shelter ...................................     30.643     113.2     113.2       2.3       0.0 
   Fuels and utilities .......................      4.376     117.9     118.5       6.3       0.5 
   Household furnishings and operations ......      5.020      95.4      95.2      -2.3      -0.2 
  Apparel ....................................      4.819      93.9      90.7      -2.5      -3.4 
  Transportation .............................     17.770     104.1     103.5      -0.1      -0.6 
   Private transportation ....................     16.520     104.2     103.6      -0.2      -0.6 
   Public transportation .....................      1.250     102.9     101.7       0.9      -1.2 
  Medical care ...............................      5.563     117.6     118.1       3.5       0.4 
   Medical care commodities ..................      1.330     112.4     112.8       2.0       0.4 
   Medical care services .....................      4.233     119.3     119.8       4.0       0.4 
  Recreation .................................      6.124     103.0     102.8       0.4      -0.2 
  Education and communication ................      6.068      97.0      97.0      -1.0       0.0 
   Education .................................      2.546     127.6     127.9       7.1       0.2 
   Communication .............................      3.522      79.0      78.8      -6.5      -0.3 
  Other goods and services ...................      4.164     112.2     112.2       1.3       0.0 
                                                                                                  
          Commodity and service group                                                             
                                                                                                  
 Services ....................................     57.098     113.6     113.5       2.6      -0.1 
 Commodities .................................     42.902     100.3      99.9      -0.3      -0.4 
  Durables ...................................     12.953      87.0      86.9      -5.0      -0.1 
 Nondurables .................................     29.949     106.5     105.9       1.8      -0.6 
  All items less food and energy .............     78.851     106.5     106.2       0.6      -0.3 
 Energy ......................................      6.717     118.2     117.0       6.7      -1.0 

 Indexes for 2003 are initial estimates.  Indexes for 2002 are interim adjustments.
 NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

 Table 1A. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): U.S. city average, by
 expenditure category and commodity and service group

 (1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)
                                                                                              
                                                                                              
                                                              Annual      Annual     Percent  
                           CPI-U                             average     average      change  
                                                               2002        2003     from 2002 
                                                                                     to 2003  
                                                                                                                                                                                          
                                                                                              
                   Expenditure category                                                       
                                                                                              
 All items ...............................................      179.9       184.0         2.3 
 All items (1967=100) ....................................      538.8       551.1           - 
                                                                                              
  Food and beverages .....................................      176.8       180.5         2.1 
   Food ..................................................      176.2       180.0         2.2 
    Food at home .........................................      175.6       179.4         2.2 
     Cereals and bakery products .........................      198.0       202.8         2.4 
     Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs ......................      162.1       169.3         4.4 
     Dairy and related products ..........................      168.1       167.9         -.1 
     Fruits and vegetables ...............................      220.9       225.9         2.3 
     Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials .......      139.2       139.8          .4 
     Other food at home ..................................      160.8       162.6         1.1 
      Sugar and sweets ...................................      159.0       162.0         1.9 
      Fats and oils ......................................      155.4       157.4         1.3 
      Other foods ........................................      177.1       178.8         1.0 
       Other miscellaneous foods  (1).....................      109.2       110.3         1.0 
    Food away from home ..................................      178.3       182.1         2.1 
     Other food away from home (1)........................      117.7       121.3         3.1 
   Alcoholic beverages ...................................      183.6       187.2         2.0 
                                                                                              
  Housing ................................................      180.3       184.8         2.5 
   Shelter ...............................................      208.1       213.1         2.4 
    Rent of primary residence (2).........................      199.7       205.5         2.9 
    Lodging away from home (1) (2)........................      118.3       119.3          .8 
    Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence (2) (3)..      214.7       219.9         2.4 
    Tenants' and household insurance  (1).................      108.7       114.8         5.6 
   Fuels and utilities ...................................      143.6       154.5         7.6 
    Fuels ................................................      127.2       138.2         8.6 
     Fuel oil and other fuels ............................      115.5       139.5        20.8 
     Gas (piped) and electricity (2)......................      134.4       145.0         7.9 
   Household furnishings and operations ..................      128.3       126.1        -1.7 
                                                                                              
  Apparel ................................................      124.0       120.9        -2.5 
   Men's and boys' apparel ...............................      121.7       118.0        -3.0 
   Women's and girls' apparel ............................      115.8       113.1        -2.3 
   Infants' and toddlers' apparel ........................      126.4       122.1        -3.4 
   Footwear ..............................................      121.4       119.6        -1.5 
                                                                                              
  Transportation .........................................      152.9       157.6         3.1 
   Private transportation ................................      148.8       153.6         3.2 
    New and used motor vehicles (1).......................       99.2        96.5        -2.7 
     New vehicles ........................................      140.0       137.9        -1.5 
     Used cars and trucks ................................      152.0       142.9        -6.0 
    Motor fuel ...........................................      116.6       135.8        16.5 
     Gasoline (all types) ................................      116.0       135.1        16.5 
    Motor vehicle parts and equipment ....................      106.9       107.8          .8 
    Motor vehicle maintenance and repair .................      190.2       195.6         2.8 
   Public transportation .................................      207.4       209.3          .9 
                                                                                              
  Medical care ...........................................      285.6       297.1         4.0 
   Medical care commodities ..............................      256.4       262.8         2.5 
   Medical care services .................................      292.9       306.0         4.5 
    Professional services (2).............................      253.9       261.2         2.9 
    Hospital and related services (2).....................      367.8       394.8         7.3 
                                                                                              
  Recreation (1)..........................................      106.2       107.5         1.2 
   Video and audio (1)....................................      102.8       103.6          .8 
                                                                                              
  Education and communication (1).........................      107.9       109.8         1.8 
   Education (1)..........................................      126.0       134.4         6.7 
    Educational books and supplies .......................      317.6       335.4         5.6 
    Tuition, other school fees, and childcare ............      362.1       386.7         6.8 
   Communication (1)......................................       92.3        89.7        -2.8 
    Information and information processing  (1)...........       90.8        87.8        -3.3 
     Telephone services  (1)..............................       99.7        98.3        -1.4 
     Information and information processing other than                                        
         telephone services  (4)..........................       18.3        16.1       -12.0 
      Personal computers and peripheral equipment  (1)....       22.2        17.6       -20.7 
                                                                                              
  Other goods and services ...............................      293.2       298.7         1.9 
   Tobacco and smoking products ..........................      461.5       469.0         1.6 
   Personal care .........................................      174.7       178.0         1.9 
    Personal care products ...............................      154.7       153.5         -.8 
    Personal care services ...............................      188.4       193.2         2.5 
    Miscellaneous personal services ......................      274.4       283.5         3.3 
                                                                                              
                Commodity and service group                                                   
                                                                                              
 Commodities .............................................      149.7       151.2         1.0 
  Food and beverages .....................................      176.8       180.5         2.1 
  Commodities less food and beverages ....................      134.2       134.5          .2 
   Nondurables less food and beverages ...................      145.1       149.7         3.2 
    Apparel ..............................................      124.0       120.9        -2.5 
    Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel ........      162.2       171.5         5.7 
   Durables ..............................................      121.4       117.5        -3.2 
 Services ................................................      209.8       216.5         3.2 
  Rent of shelter (3).....................................      216.7       221.9         2.4 
  Transportation services ................................      209.1       216.3         3.4 
  Other services .........................................      246.4       254.4         3.2 
                                                                                              
                      Special indexes                                                         
                                                                                              
 All items less food .....................................      180.5       184.7         2.3 
 All items less shelter ..................................      170.8       174.6         2.2 
 All items less medical care .............................      174.3       178.1         2.2 
 Commodities less food ...................................      136.0       136.5          .4 
 Nondurables less food ...................................      147.4       151.9         3.1 
 Nondurables less food and apparel .......................      163.3       172.1         5.4 
 Nondurables .............................................      161.1       165.3         2.6 
 Services less rent of shelter (3)........................      217.5       226.4         4.1 
 Services less medical care services .....................      202.5       208.7         3.1 
 Energy ..................................................      121.7       136.5        12.2 
 All items less energy ...................................      187.7       190.6         1.5 
  All items less food and energy .........................      190.5       193.2         1.4 
   Commodities less food and energy commodities ..........      143.7       140.9        -1.9 
    Energy commodities ...................................      117.1       136.7        16.7 
   Services less energy services .........................      217.5       223.8         2.9 
 Purchasing power of the consumer dollar (1982-84=$1.00) .     $ .556      $ .544           - 
 Purchasing power of the consumer dollar (1967=$1.00) ....     $ .186      $ .182           - 

   1 Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
   2 This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator.  All other item stratum
 index series converted to a geometric means estimator in January, 1999.
   3 Indexes on a December 1982=100 base.
   4 Indexes on a December 1988=100 base.
   - Data not available.

 
 Table 4A. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W): U.S. city
 average, by expenditure category and commodity and service group

 (1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)
                                                                                              
                                                                                              
                                                              Annual      Annual     Percent  
                           CPI-W                             average     average      change  
                                                               2002        2003     from 2002 
                                                                                     to 2003  
                                                                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                              
                   Expenditure category                                                       
                                                                                              
 All items ...............................................      175.9       179.8         2.2 
 All items (1967=100) ....................................      523.9       535.6           - 
                                                                                              
  Food and beverages .....................................      176.1       179.9         2.2 
   Food ..................................................      175.5       179.4         2.2 
    Food at home .........................................      174.7       178.5         2.2 
     Cereals and bakery products .........................      198.0       202.8         2.4 
     Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs ......................      162.0       169.2         4.4 
     Dairy and related products ..........................      167.9       167.6         -.2 
     Fruits and vegetables ...............................      219.6       224.3         2.1 
     Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials .......      138.6       139.1          .4 
     Other food at home ..................................      160.4       162.2         1.1 
      Sugar and sweets ...................................      158.8       161.6         1.8 
      Fats and oils ......................................      155.3       157.4         1.4 
      Other foods ........................................      177.6       179.2          .9 
       Other miscellaneous foods  (1).....................      109.7       110.8         1.0 
    Food away from home ..................................      178.2       182.0         2.1 
     Other food away from home (1)........................      118.1       121.5         2.9 
   Alcoholic beverages ...................................      183.3       187.1         2.1 
                                                                                              
  Housing ................................................      175.7       180.4         2.7 
   Shelter ...............................................      201.9       206.9         2.5 
    Rent of primary residence (2).........................      199.0       204.7         2.9 
    Lodging away from home (1) (2)........................      118.4       119.8         1.2 
    Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence (2) (3)..      195.1       199.7         2.4 
    Tenants' and household insurance  (1).................      108.7       114.7         5.5 
   Fuels and utilities ...................................      142.9       153.9         7.7 
    Fuels ................................................      126.1       137.0         8.6 
     Fuel oil and other fuels ............................      115.0       138.7        20.6 
     Gas (piped) and electricity (2)......................      133.4       144.1         8.0 
    Water and sewer and trash collection services (1).....      113.1       117.3         3.7 
   Household furnishings and operations ..................      124.4       121.9        -2.0 
    Household operations  (1).............................      119.7       122.9         2.7 
                                                                                              
  Apparel ................................................      123.1       120.0        -2.5 
   Men's and boys' apparel ...............................      121.7       117.5        -3.5 
   Women's and girls' apparel ............................      114.6       112.1        -2.2 
   Infants' and toddlers' apparel ........................      128.6       124.1        -3.5 
   Footwear ..............................................      121.2       119.1        -1.7 
                                                                                              
  Transportation .........................................      151.8       156.3         3.0 
   Private transportation ................................      149.0       153.5         3.0 
    New and used motor vehicles (1).......................       99.4        96.0        -3.4 
     New vehicles ........................................      141.1       139.0        -1.5 
     Used cars and trucks ................................      152.8       143.7        -6.0 
    Motor fuel ...........................................      117.0       136.1        16.3 
     Gasoline (all types) ................................      116.4       135.5        16.4 
    Motor vehicle parts and equipment ....................      106.1       107.3         1.1 
    Motor vehicle maintenance and repair .................      191.7       197.3         2.9 
   Public transportation .................................      202.6       206.0         1.7 
                                                                                              
  Medical care ...........................................      284.6       296.3         4.1 
   Medical care commodities ..............................      251.1       257.4         2.5 
   Medical care services .................................      292.5       305.9         4.6 
    Professional services (2).............................      256.0       263.4         2.9 
    Hospital and related services (2).....................      363.2       391.2         7.7 
                                                                                              
  Recreation (1)..........................................      104.6       105.5          .9 
   Video and audio (1)....................................      102.0       102.9          .9 
                                                                                              
  Education and communication (1).........................      107.6       109.0         1.3 
   Education (1)..........................................      125.9       133.8         6.3 
    Educational books and supplies .......................      318.5       336.5         5.7 
    Tuition, other school fees, and childcare ............      354.8       377.3         6.3 
   Communication (1)......................................       93.7        91.2        -2.7 
    Information and information processing  (1)...........       92.7        89.9        -3.0 
     Telephone services  (1)..............................       99.9        98.5        -1.4 
     Information and information processing other than                                        
         telephone services  (4)..........................       19.0        16.7       -12.1 
      Personal computers and peripheral equipment  (1)....       21.8        17.3       -20.6 
                                                                                              
  Other goods and services ...............................      302.0       307.0         1.7 
   Tobacco and smoking products ..........................      463.2       470.5         1.6 
   Personal care .........................................      174.1       177.0         1.7 
    Personal care products ...............................      155.5       154.2         -.8 
    Personal care services ...............................      189.1       193.9         2.5 
    Miscellaneous personal services ......................      274.0       283.3         3.4 
                                                                                              
                Commodity and service group                                                   
                                                                                              
 Commodities .............................................      150.4       151.8          .9 
  Food and beverages .....................................      176.1       179.9         2.2 
  Commodities less food and beverages ....................      135.5       135.8          .2 
   Nondurables less food and beverages ...................      147.0       152.1         3.5 
    Apparel ..............................................      123.1       120.0        -2.5 
    Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel ........      165.3       175.6         6.2 
   Durables ..............................................      121.8       117.4        -3.6 
 Services ................................................      205.9       212.6         3.3 
  Rent of shelter (3).....................................      194.5       199.2         2.4 
  Tenants' and household insurance  (1)...................      108.7       114.7         5.5 
  Gas (piped) and electricity (2).........................      133.4       144.1         8.0 
  Water and sewer and trash collection services (1).......      113.1       117.3         3.7 
  Household operations  (1)...............................      119.7       122.9         2.7 
  Transportation services ................................      207.7       216.2         4.1 
  Medical care services ..................................      292.5       305.9         4.6 
  Other services .........................................      241.6       248.5         2.9 
                                                                                              
                      Special indexes                                                         
                                                                                              
 All items less food .....................................      175.8       179.7         2.2 
 All items less shelter ..................................      168.3       171.9         2.1 
 All items less medical care .............................      171.1       174.8         2.2 
 Commodities less food ...................................      137.3       137.7          .3 
 Nondurables less food ...................................      149.2       154.2         3.4 
 Nondurables less food and apparel .......................      166.1       175.9         5.9 
 Nondurables .............................................      161.9       166.4         2.8 
 Services less rent of shelter (3)........................      193.1       201.3         4.2 
 Services less medical care services .....................      198.9       205.2         3.2 
 Energy ..................................................      120.9       135.9        12.4 
 All items less energy ...................................      183.6       186.1         1.4 
  All items less food and energy .........................      185.6       187.9         1.2 
   Commodities less food and energy commodities ..........      144.4       141.1        -2.3 
    Energy commodities ...................................      117.3       136.8        16.6 
   Services less energy services .........................      213.9       220.2         2.9 
 Purchasing power of the consumer dollar (1982-84=$1.00) .     $ .569      $ .556           - 
 Purchasing power of the consumer dollar (1967=$1.00) ....     $ .191      $ .187           - 

   1 Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
   2 This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator.  All other item stratum
 index series converted to a geometric means estimator in January, 1999.
   3 Indexes on a December 1984=100 base
   4 Indexes on a December 1988=100 base.
   - Data not available.