Experimental CPI Rose 0.2%

A new experimental index of consumer price changes rose 0.2% last month. That’s a slower pace than the government’s main inflation gauge and the latest sign the official CPI exaggerates Americans’ cost of living, Labor Department figures showed. The March increase in the experimental CPI matched a 0.2% rise reported in a specially calculated “baseline” CPI intended to provide a direct comparison between the experimental gauge and the official CPI. Those figures aren’t adjusted for seasonal variations. In the official March inflation report, released April 15, the CPI rose 0.3% when unadjusted for seasonal changes. Separately, prices U.S. businesses pay for imports fell 1.4% last month, the biggest decline since December 1992, as crude oil prices slumped, the Labor Department said, In February, import prices declined 0.8%.