Full text of U.S. Financial Data : February 22, 2001

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February 22, 2001

USFinancialData
THE WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS:
■ In January, the consumer price index for all urban consumers
(CPI-U) increased 0.6 percent, or 7.8 percent at an annual rate.
Prices of services, which comprise roughly 58 percent of the CPI-U
basket, increased 0.9 percent in January and are up 4.4 percent
from a year earlier. Commodity prices, though, which comprise the
remaining 42 percent, increased 0.1 percent in January and are up
2.7 percent from a year earlier. The CPI-U has increased 3.7 percent
since January 2000.
■ After increasing 2.5 percent over the final six months of 2000, prices
paid by producers for finished goods (PPI) rose 1.1 percent, or at a
14.6 percent annual rate, in January. Measured from a year earlier,
the PPI has increased 4.8 percent, the largest 12-month gain since
the year ending December 1990.
■ In January, the index of leading economic indicators rose 0.8 percent
according to the Conference Board, the largest increase in two years.
■ The U.S. goods and services trade deficit totaled $33 billion in
December 2000, little changed from the previous month. For the
year, the trade deficit totaled $369.7 billion, which was $104.7 billion
higher (in absolute terms) than 1999. Exports of goods and services
increased 11.7 percent in 2000, while imports increased 17.8 percent.
■ The index of industrial production fell 0.3 percent in January, the
fourth consecutive monthly decline. Industry utilization measured
80.2 percent of capacity, its lowest rate since August 1992.
All data are seasonally adjusted unless otherwise indicated.
U.S. Financial Data is published weekly by the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of
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