February Retail Prices for Footwear Increase

Retail prices for footwear rose a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent in February and advanced 1.6 percent year-over-year, the U.S. Department of Labor said Wednesday in posting its Consumer Price Index.

Women’s footwear prices increased 2 percent for the month, and declined 0.3 percent compared with February 2008. Men’s footwear prices increased 0.7 percent in February and advanced 3.3 percent in 12-month comparisons. Boys’ and girls’ footwear prices fell 1.8 percent month-to-month, but rose 3.2 percent year-to-year.

Retail prices for all apparel, including footwear, rose a seasonally adjusted 1.3 percent in February. Compared with a year earlier, retail apparel prices increased 0.8 percent.

Prices for all goods and services rose 0.4 percent in February. Compared with a year earlier, prices increased 0.2 percent. The February increase was the largest since July 2008 and was driven mostly by increasing energy and fuel prices, economists said.

Core inflation, which excludes the volatile energy and food sectors, rose 0.2 percent in February and increased 1.8 percent in 12-month comparisons.