Philadelphia Area Consumer Price Index – February 2010 (PDF)

Retail prices in the Philadelphia area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), rose 0.8 percent from December to February after no change in the previous two-month period, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that while the recent advance was led by increases in the housing and apparel indexes, six of the eight major categories that comprise the CPI had higher prices over the last two months. (See chart 1.) The February level of 226.529 (1982-84 = 100) was 2.8 percent higher than in February 2009. Over the same period, the core inflation rate, as measured by the all items less food and energy index, rose 2.3 percent. (See table 1.)

Chart 1. 2-month and 12-month percent changes ended February 2010 for the major categories of the CPI-U for the Philadelphia area, not seasonally adjusted

Chart Data

The housing index rose 0.5 percent from December to February, reflecting higher prices for both shelter and fuels and utilities. Shelter prices advanced 0.6 percent over the last two months, as an increase in the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index (0.5 percent) more than offset a decrease in the rent of primary residence index (-0.2 percent). Since last February, these two components rose 3.8 and 1.2 percent, respectively. The shelter index advanced 2.7 percent over the year. Prices for fuels and utilities rose 1.9 percent from December to February. Electricity prices increased 2.4 percent over the last two months and utility (piped) gas service prices edged up 0.2 percent. Over the year, electricity prices advanced 2.0 percent, while those for utility gas service dropped 15.8 percent. The overall fuels and utilities index rose 0.4 percent since last February. Moderating the two-month advance in the housing index, prices for household furnishings and operations fell 2.1 percent since December to a level 5.7 percent lower than a year ago. The overall housing index increased 1.6 percent over the year.

Following a 7.4-percent seasonal decline from October to December, apparel prices rose 5.9 percent over the last two months. Since February 2009, apparel prices increased 2.0 percent.

The education and communication index advanced 2.1 percent since December, due almost entirely to higher prices for internet services and electronic information providers. Over the year, the education and communication index increased 1.6 percent.

Following three consecutive bimonthly periods of decline totaling 1.5 percent, medical care prices rose 1.9 percent from December to February. The medical care index advanced 0.9 percent from its year-ago level.

The transportation index increased for the seventh consecutive bimonthly period, up 13.3 percent since December 2008 and 0.7 percent over the last two months. The recent advance was due largely to higher prices for gasoline, which rose 1.8 percent since December to a level 35.9 percent higher than last year. Also contributing to the recent two-month rise in the transportation index were higher prices for used cars and trucks and airline fare. Since February 2009, transportation prices advanced 12.0 percent.

The food and beverages index edged up 0.2 percent since December. Prices were higher for both food at home (0.4 percent) and food away from home (0.3 percent) over the last two months. Since last February, prices for food at home fell 0.4 percent but those for food away from home rose 1.4 percent. Moderating the two-month advance in the food and beverages index were lower prices for alcoholic beverages, down 2.0 percent—the largest bimonthly decline since June 1995. Alcoholic beverages prices decreased 0.3 percent since last February. The overall food and beverages index was 0.3 percent higher over the year.

The remaining categories had lower prices from December to February. The other goods and services index, which includes tobacco and smoking products, personal care products, personal care services, and miscellaneous personal services such as legal, funeral, and laundry and dry cleaning services, fell 0.6 percent over the last two months but was 6.9 percent higher since last February.

Recreation prices edged down 0.3 percent since December. Over the year, recreation prices fell 2.2 percent—the largest 12-month decline since August 2002.

The energy index, which reflects prices for gasoline and household fuels, rose 2.1 percent from December to February, reflecting higher prices for electricity (2.4 percent), gasoline (1.8 percent), and utility (piped) gas service (0.2 percent). Energy prices advanced 11.5 percent over the last 12 months.

The two-month increase in the CPI was due mainly to a 0.9-percent advance in the services index. The commodities index was also higher since December, up 0.5 percent. Since last February, services prices rose 2.1 percent and commodities prices, 4.1 percent.

The Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md., Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA), includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania; Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem Counties in New Jersey; New Castle County in Delaware; and Cecil County in Maryland.

The relative importance of a component of the CPI is its expenditure or value weight expressed as a percentage of all items within an area. Relative importance ratios show approximately how the index population distributes expenditures when the value weights are collected and represent an estimate of how consumers would distribute their expenditures as prices change over time. Relative importance ratios cannot be used as estimates of current spending patterns or as indicators of changing consumer expenditures in the intervals between weight revisions because consumption patterns are influenced by factors—including income, variations in climate, family size, and availability of new and different kinds of goods and services—other than price change. (See table A.)