The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is an important indicator of the general level of prices of essential commodities. It is widely used in making cost of living adjustments to salaries, for example.
1. Log on to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) home page of the Bureau of Labor Statistics Web site (stats.bls.gov/cpihome.htm). Get a table of the last 48 months' CPI for U.S. urban consumers with 1982-1984 as the base. Make a time plot of the data. Discuss any seasonal pattern you see in the data.
2. Go to the Average Price Data area and get a table of the last 48 months' average price of unleaded regular gasoline. Make a comparison time plot of the CPI data in part 1 and the gasoline price data. Comment on the gasoline prices.