The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Northeast region inched down 0.1 percent in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that an over-the-month decline of 0.9 percent in the energy index was largely responsible for the overall decrease, moderated by a 0.1-percent increase in the food index. The all items less food and energy index was unchanged over the month. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 1.1 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The all items less food and energy component advanced 1.8 percent. The food component also rose, up 2.3 percent, while energy prices fell 6.1 percent since July 2011. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index inched up 0.1 percent in July after remaining unchanged in June. The recent increase reflected higher prices for food away from home, up 0.2 percent; prices for food at home were unchanged over the month.

Over the year, the food index advanced 2.3 percent. Prices were higher for both the food at home (2.0 percent) and food away from home (2.7 percent) components since last July.

Energy

The energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, fell for the third straight month, down 0.9 percent since June and 6.7 percent since April. The recent one-month decline was due largely to lower prices for electricity (-1.6 percent) and gasoline (-0.8 percent). Utility (piped) gas service prices also decreased over the month, inching down 0.1 percent.

The energy index fell 6.1 percent over the year—the largest decline since October 2009—as its three largest components all recorded decreases. The decline was led by lower gasoline prices, down 5.1 percent. Utility (piped) gas service prices dropped 11.8 percent, their 21st consecutive over-the-year decrease, and electricity prices fell 4.9 percent, their 9th.

All items less food and energy

Over the month, the all items less food and energy index was unchanged. Price decreases for several components, led by a 1.5-percent seasonal decline in apparel prices, were offset by various price increases including that for shelter, particularly owners’ equivalent rent of residences (0.2 percent each).

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.8 percent over the year. The 12-month advance was led by higher shelter prices (1.8 percent), mainly those for owners’ equivalent rent of residences (2.1 percent). Widespread price increases among other components, including medical care (3.9 percent) and apparel (3.3 percent), also contributed to the rise in the all items less food and energy index since July 2011.

The August 2012 Consumer Price Index for the Northeast region is scheduled to be released on September 14, 2012, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

Table A. Northeast region CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index (not seasonally adjusted)

Month	2007		2008		2009		2010		2011		2012
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.3	2.3	0.4	3.9	0.2	0.5	0.4	3.0	0.4	1.6	0.4	2.9
February	0.4	2.4	0.4	4.0	0.6	0.7	0.0	2.5	0.5	2.0	0.4	2.8
March	0.8	2.6	0.8	3.9	0.2	0.2	0.3	2.6	0.8	2.5	0.5	2.5
April	0.5	2.2	0.5	3.9	0.2	-0.1	0.2	2.5	0.5	2.8	0.3	2.3
May	0.5	2.3	0.9	4.3	0.1	-0.8	0.2	2.6	0.5	3.2	-0.1	1.7
June	0.4	2.3	1.1	5.0	0.8	-1.2	-0.1	1.7	0.1	3.4	-0.2	1.5
July	0.2	2.0	0.8	5.7	0.1	-1.9	0.0	1.6	0.2	3.6	-0.1	1.1
August	-0.2	1.6	-0.3	5.5	0.3	-1.2	0.1	1.4	0.3	3.8
September	-0.1	2.4	-0.4	5.2	0.1	-0.7	-0.1	1.2	0.1	4.0
October	0.2	3.1	-0.9	4.0	0.0	0.2	0.3	1.5	-0.1	3.6
November	0.6	4.0	-1.6	1.7	0.2	2.0	0.2	1.5	-0.1	3.2
December	0.0	3.8	-0.9	0.7	-0.1	2.8	0.0	1.6	-0.3	2.9

 

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in prices over time in a fixed market basket of goods and services. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) a CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) which covers approximately 88 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 29 percent of the total population. The CPI-U includes, in addition to wage earners and clerical workers, groups such as professional, managerial, and technical workers, the self-employed, short-term workers, the unemployed, and retirees and others not in the labor force.

The CPI is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, and fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors’ and dentists’ services, drugs, and the other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. Each month, prices are collected in 87 urban areas across the country from about 4,000 housing units and approximately 26,000 retail establishments—department stores, supermarkets, hospitals, filling stations, and other types of stores and service establishments. All taxes directly associated with the purchase and use of items are included in the index.

The index measures price changes from a designated reference date (1982-84) that equals 100.0. An increase of 16.5 percent, for example, is shown as 116.5. This change can also be expressed in dollars as follows: the price of a base period “market basket” of goods and services in the CPI has risen from $10 in 1982-84 to $11.65. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/homch17_a.htm.

In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each location are averaged together with weights that represent their importance in the spending of the appropriate population group. Local data are then combined to obtain a U.S. city average. Because the sample size of a local area is smaller, the local area index is subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error than the national index. In addition, local indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences. As a result, local area indexes show greater volatility than the national index, although their long-term trends are quite similar. NOTE: Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices between cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period.

The Northeast region is comprised of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number:  1-800-877-8339.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods, Northeast Region, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from
	Historical data	May 2012	Jun. 2012	Jul. 2012	Jul. 2011	May 2012	Jun. 2012
All items		245.709	245.201	244.984	1.1	-0.3	-0.1
All items (December 1977 = 100)		386.917	386.116	385.775
Food and beverages		240.018	240.039	240.190	2.3	0.1	0.1
Food		239.892	239.798	239.952	2.3	0.0	0.1
Food at home		239.676	239.056	238.950	2.0	-0.3	0.0
Food away from home		243.228	243.906	244.446	2.7	0.5	0.2
Alcoholic beverages		240.264	241.963	242.071	2.3	0.8	0.0
Housing		250.640	251.619	251.688	0.7	0.4	0.0
Shelter		301.935	303.136	303.620	1.8	0.6	0.2
Rent of primary residence (1)		299.623	300.242	300.890	2.5	0.4	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of residences (1) (2)		313.152	313.774	314.409	2.1	0.4	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence (1) (2)		313.059	313.681	314.307	2.1	0.4	0.2
Fuels and utilities		214.273	215.185	213.541	-5.3	-0.3	-0.8
Household energy		194.001	194.873	192.831	-7.0	-0.6	-1.0
Energy services (1)		179.646	185.112	182.967	-7.3	1.8	-1.2
Electricity (1)		183.893	190.619	187.590	-4.9	2.0	-1.6
Utility (piped) gas service (1)		159.995	162.510	162.334	-11.8	1.5	-0.1
Household furnishings and operations		128.027	128.380	128.357	0.7	0.3	0.0
Apparel		130.990	126.999	125.107	3.3	-4.5	-1.5
Transportation		218.237	214.475	213.659	-0.8	-2.1	-0.4
Private transportation		211.394	207.362	206.743	-1.0	-2.2	-0.3
New and used motor vehicles (3)		99.566	99.939	99.843	-0.7	0.3	-0.1
New vehicles		142.829	142.576	142.371	0.4	-0.3	-0.1
New cars and trucks (3) (4)		98.990	98.817	98.674	0.4	-0.3	-0.1
New cars (4)		138.692	138.334	138.215	-0.2	-0.3	-0.1
Used cars and trucks		162.940	164.734	165.205	1.8	1.4	0.3
Motor fuel		316.518	296.226	293.789	-5.1	-7.2	-0.8
Gasoline (all types)		315.391	295.081	292.702	-5.1	-7.2	-0.8
Gasoline, unleaded regular (4)		317.531	296.395	293.771	-5.4	-7.5	-0.9
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (4) (5)		319.824	300.810	298.828	-4.5	-6.6	-0.7
Gasoline, unleaded premium (4)		302.204	285.020	283.613	-4.2	-6.2	-0.5
Medical care		437.270	437.098	438.180	3.9	0.2	0.2
Medical care commodities		366.928	366.859	370.806	4.8	1.1	1.1
Medical care services		454.767	454.557	454.432	3.6	-0.1	0.0
Professional services		342.258	342.037	341.375	1.3	-0.3	-0.2
Recreation (3)		119.673	119.880	119.766	1.3	0.1	-0.1
Education and communication (3)		134.814	134.973	134.788	1.2	0.0	-0.1
Other goods and services		426.180	427.178	427.746	2.8	0.4	0.1
Commodity and service group
Commodities		195.754	193.235	192.791	0.6	-1.5	-0.2
Commodities less food and beverages		168.724	165.193	164.507	-0.4	-2.5	-0.4
Nondurables less food and beverages		219.265	212.243	211.091	-0.7	-3.7	-0.5
Durables		112.177	112.191	111.988	0.1	-0.2	-0.2
Services		294.827	296.218	296.215	1.4	0.5	0.0
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		227.022	225.877	225.399	0.8	-0.7	-0.2
All items less medical care		237.232	236.713	236.448	0.9	-0.3	-0.1
Commodities less food		171.601	168.196	167.528	-0.3	-2.4	-0.4
Nondurables		230.952	227.168	226.616	0.8	-1.9	-0.2
Nondurables less food		220.494	213.930	212.844	-0.5	-3.5	-0.5
Services less rent of shelter (2)		297.616	299.263	298.715	1.1	0.4	-0.2
Services less medical care services		283.691	285.156	285.159	1.3	0.5	0.0
Energy		245.110	237.253	235.042	-6.1	-4.1	-0.9
All items less energy		248.130	248.396	248.389	1.9	0.1	0.0
All items less food and energy		251.183	251.518	251.481	1.8	0.1	0.0
Footnotes (1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (2) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.