Figure A
Removing March 2020 base effect shows no unusual inflationary surge: Year-over-year core CPI inflation and two alternative base periods
| Date | March 2020 | February 2020 | October 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb-2019 | 2.1% | 2.1% | 1.7% |
| Mar-2019 | 2.0% | 2.1% | 1.8% |
| Apr-2019 | 2.1% | 2.1% | 2.0% |
| May-2019 | 2.0% | 2.1% | 1.9% |
| Jun-2019 | 2.2% | 2.1% | 2.1% |
| Jul-2019 | 2.2% | 2.2% | 2.2% |
| Aug-2019 | 2.4% | 2.2% | 2.2% |
| Sep-2019 | 2.3% | 2.3% | 2.0% |
| Oct-2019 | 2.3% | 2.3% | 2.0% |
| Nov-2019 | 2.3% | 2.3% | 1.8% |
| Dec-2019 | 2.2% | 2.2% | 1.5% |
| Jan-2020 | 2.3% | 2.3% | 1.6% |
| Feb-2020 | 2.4% | 2.3% | 1.7% |
| Mar-2020 | 2.1% | 2.2% | 1.4% |
| Apr-2020 | 1.4% | 1.6% | 0.3% |
| May-2020 | 1.2% | 1.3% | 0.0% |
| Jun-2020 | 1.2% | 1.4% | 0.0% |
| Jul-2020 | 1.6% | 1.6% | 0.6% |
| Aug-2020 | 1.7% | 1.8% | 1.4% |
| Sep-2020 | 1.7% | 1.7% | 2.5% |
| Oct-2020 | 1.6% | 1.7% | 2.8% |
| Nov-2020 | 1.7% | 1.7% | 2.7% |
| Dec-2020 | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1.7% |
| Jan-2021 | 1.4% | 1.5% | 1.0% |
| Feb-2021 | 1.3% | 1.4% | 0.9% |
| Mar-2021 | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.3% |
Source: Author’s analysis of data from the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The measure is the CPI for all urban consumers excluding food and energy
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