Web site: www.bls.gov/ro3/		PLS – 4495 For Release: Friday, February 20, 2009
Information:	Michael Dickie (215) 597-3282
Media Contact:	Gerald Perrins (215) 861-5600

Washington-Baltimore Consumer Price Index: January 2009 (PDF)

Retail Prices Decline for the Second Consecutive Bimonthly Period

Retail prices in the Washington-Baltimore area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), decreased 0.7 percent from November to January, following a 2.5-percent decline in the previous two-month period, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that the recent decline was dominated by lower transportation prices, in particular lower gasoline prices.  Following normal seasonal patterns, the apparel index was the only other major category to register a decrease from November to January.  The remaining six major categories experienced price advances over the last two months, which helped to moderate the decrease in retail prices in the Washington-Baltimore area.  (See chart A.)  The January level of 137.598 (November 1996 = 100) was 1.0 percent higher than in January 2008—the smallest 12-month increase since an identical advance in May 1998.  Over the same period, the core inflation rate, as measured by the all items less food and energy index, rose 2.4 percent.  (See table 1.)

Chart A.  2-month and 12-month percent changes ended January 2009 for the major categories of the CPI-U for the Washington-Baltimore area, not seasonally adjusted

chart data

Transportation prices declined 4.8 percent from November to January.  The recent decrease was due almost entirely to lower gasoline prices, which dropped 19.7 percent since November following large declines in both the July-September (-10.2 percent) and September-November (-39.5 percent) periods.  The gasoline index has declined 56.4 percent since July and 42.1 percent since last January.  The overall transportation index declined 12.9 percent over the year—the largest 12-month decrease since the inception of the index in November 1996.

The apparel index fell 7.8 percent since November.  Apparel prices typically decline over this two month period, although the recent decrease was larger than the 4.1-percent average November-to-January decrease over the previous five years.  Lower prices for men’s shirts and sweaters and men’s suits, sport coats, and outerwear were partially responsible for the decrease.  Despite the recent decline, apparel prices were 3.5 percent higher over the year.

The remaining indexes had higher prices from November to January.  The housing index increased 0.3 percent since November following a 0.9-percent decrease in the previous two-month period.  The recent rise was due to higher shelter prices, which advanced 0.4 percent from November to January as a result of higher prices for both published components: owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence (0.2 percent) and rent of primary residence (0.7 percent).  Both of these components also rose over the year, 3.1 and 5.2 percent, respectively.  The shelter index was 3.0 percent higher than its year-ago level.  The household furnishings and operations index declined 0.5 percent over the last two months and 1.4 percent over the year.  Prices for fuels and utilities were also lower since November (-0.2 percent) due to declines in the fuel oil and electricity indexes.  Electricity prices edged down 0.2 percent since November but rose 12.9 percent since January 2008.  Moderating the decline in fuels and utilities were higher prices for utility (piped) gas service, which advanced 1.2 percent over the last two months and 3.1 percent over the last 12 months.  The fuels and utilities index was 9.1 percent higher over the year.  The overall housing index rose 3.3 percent since last January.

Food and beverages prices edged up 0.3 percent from November to January led by higher prices for alcoholic beverages.  The 2.1-percent two-month increase in the alcoholic beverages index was the largest since May 2001.  Since last January, alcoholic beverages prices rose 3.6 percent.  The food at home index also edged up 0.3 percent since November after declining 0.5 percent in the previous two-month period; over the year, food at home prices were 4.4 percent higher.  Prices for food away from home were unchanged since November but rose 4.5 percent since January 2008.  The overall food and beverages index increased 4.3 percent over the last 12 months.

Education and communication prices rose 0.3 percent over the last two months after declining 0.3 percent in the previous two-month period.  Since January 2008, the education and communication index rose 2.9 percent.

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) rose 0.6 percent from November to January, due in part to higher prices for cigarettes.  Over the year, the other goods and services index advanced 3.1 percent. 

Medical care prices edged up 0.2 percent over the last two months, reflecting higher prices for prescription drugs and eyeglasses and eye care services.  The medical care index rose 2.0 percent over the last 12 months.

The recreation index inched up 0.1 percent since November and was 1.2 percent higher than a year ago.

The energy index, which reflects prices for gasoline and household fuels, declined 8.0 percent since November dominated by lower gasoline prices.  Prices for fuel oil; electricity; other motor fuels; and propane, kerosene, and firewood also decreased, while utility gas prices rose.  Over the year, energy prices were down 16.3 percent.

All of the two-month decrease in the overall local index came from falling commodities prices, down 2.5 percent since November and 3.5 percent since last January.  Prices for services edged up 0.3 percent over the last two months and were up 3.4 percent over the year.

The CPI-U for the Washington-Baltimore area stood at 137.598 on the November 1996=100 reference base, which means that a market basket of goods and services that averaged $100.00 in November 1996 would have cost $137.60 in January 2009. 

The Washington-Baltimore, D.C.-Md.-Va.-W.Va., Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) includes the District of Columbia; Baltimore City and the counties of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Carroll, Charles, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Queen Anne’s, and Washington in Maryland; the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park and the counties of Arlington, Clarke, Fairfax, Fauquier, King George, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren in Virginia; and the counties of Berkeley and Jefferson in West Virginia.

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.)

Table A (2005-2006 weights). Relative Importance of components in the Consumer Price Index: Washington-Baltimore area, December 2008

Item and group	CPI-U
Expenditure category
All items	100.000
Food and beverages	14.284
Food	13.166
Food at home	6.807
Food away from home	6.359
Alcoholic beverages	1.118
Housing	48.599
Shelter	39.000
Rent of primary residence	6.474
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence	29.560
Fuels and utilities	5.514
Household energy	4.836
Gas (piped) and electricity	4.649
Electricity	3.668
Utility (piped) gas service	0.981
Household furnishings and operations	4.085
Apparel	3.878
Transportation	12.569
Private transportation	11.317
Motor fuel	3.206
Gasoline	3.184
Medical care	5.015
Recreation	5.194
Education and communication	7.465
Other goods and services	2.996
Commodity and service group
Commodities	34.255
Commodities less food and beverages	19.971
Non durables less food and beverages	12.157
Durables	7.815
Services	65.745
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	94.985
All items less shelter	61.000
Commodities less food	21.090
Nondurables	26.440
Nondurables less food	13.275
Services less rent of shelter	27.133
Services less medical care services	61.938
Energy	8.042
All items less energy	91.958
All items less food and energy	78.793

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods, Washington-Baltimore, D.C.-Md.-Va.-W.Va. (December 1997=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Nov. 2008	Dec. 2008	Jan. 2009	Jan. 2008	Nov. 2008	Dec. 2008
All items (1)	138.547	-	137.598	1.0	-0.7	-
Food and beverages (1)	139.292	-	139.710	4.3	0.3	-
Food (1)	140.774	-	140.988	4.4	0.2	-
Food at home	137.011	137.193	137.387	4.4	0.3	0.1
Food away from home (2)	142.978	-	143.007	4.5	0.0	-
Alcoholic beverages (2)	118.852	-	121.289	3.6	2.1	-
Housing (1)	150.305	-	150.681	3.3	0.3	-
Shelter	153.741	153.437	154.345	3.0	0.4	0.6
Rent of primary residence (1) (3)	165.401	166.005	166.619	5.2	0.7	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence (3)	153.663	153.807	153.944	3.1	0.2	0.1
Fuels and utilities	190.769	-	190.319	9.1	-0.2	-
Household energy	196.524	199.029	195.981	9.7	-0.3	-1.5
Gas (piped) and electricity (3)	189.899	192.887	190.004	10.7	0.1	-1.5
Electricity (3)	189.755	189.979	189.285	12.9	-0.2	-0.4
Utility (piped) gas service (3)	169.414	181.294	171.426	3.1	1.2	-5.4
Household furnishings and operations	100.407	-	99.950	-1.4	-0.5	-
Apparel (1)	98.842	-	91.152	3.5	-7.8	-
Transportation (1)	121.554	-	115.756	-12.9	-4.8	-
Private transportation	120.921	-	114.558	-14.0	-5.3	-
Motor fuel	181.706	144.776	145.923	-42.0	-19.7	0.8
Gasoline (all types)	181.418	144.433	145.644	-42.1	-19.7	0.8
Gasoline, unleaded regular (4)	181.357	143.880	145.639	-43.1	-19.7	1.2
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (4)	183.401	147.566	147.945	-40.3	-19.3	0.3
Gasoline,unleaded premium (4)	187.915	149.896	150.438	-38.7	-19.9	0.4
Medical care (1)	141.933	-	142.198	2.0	0.2	-
Recreation	117.005	-	117.129	1.2	0.1	-
Education and communication	130.909	-	131.247	2.9	0.3	-
Other goods and services (1)	157.893	-	158.830	3.1	0.6	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	120.030	-	117.011	-3.5	-2.5	-
Commodities less food and beverages	109.111	-	104.170	-8.7	-4.5	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	131.184	-	121.170	-12.2	-7.6	-
Durables	84.933	-	85.190	-3.1	0.3	-
Services	150.757	-	151.162	3.4	0.3	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care (1)	138.314	-	137.303	0.9	-0.7	-
All items less shelter	130.837	-	129.039	-0.3	-1.4	-
Commodities less food	109.647	-	105.064	-8.1	-4.2	-
Nondurables	134.790	-	130.278	-3.6	-3.3	-
Nondurables less food	130.251	-	121.370	-10.9	-6.8	-
Services less rent of shelter	148.064	-	148.193	4.0	0.1	-
Services less medical care services	151.523	-	151.937	3.5	0.3	-
Energy (1)	187.851	174.072	172.793	-16.3	-8.0	-0.7
All items less energy	134.523	-	134.464	2.7	0.0	-
All items less food and energy (1)	134.387	-	134.285	2.4	-0.1	-
Footnotes 1 For Washington-Baltimore, index is on a November 1996=100 base. 2 For Washington-Baltimore, index is on a November 1997=100 base. 3 This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. 4 Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. - Data not available. Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

 

 

Last Modified Date: September 23, 2009