The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Atlanta inched up 0.1 percent over the two months, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that food prices inched up 0.1 percent, while energy prices decreased 3.1 percent. The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.6 percent. Within the all items less food and energy group, increases in the shelter and medical care indexes were partially offset by decreases in the apparel, and education and communication indexes. (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 rose 1.1 percent. Annual increases were registered in a number of categories, including medical care, other goods and services, and shelter. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.1 percent over the year. (See chart 1.)

Food

Food prices inched up 0.1 percent during the March-April pricing period, reflecting small increases in prices for both food at home and food away from home, up 0.2 and 0.1 percent, respectively.

Over the year, the food index rose 1.7 percent as prices increased for both food at home (2.7 percent) and food away from home (0.5 percent).

Energy

The energy index decreased 3.1 percent over the two-month pricing period, led by a 5.4-percent drop in motor fuel prices. Within the energy group, electricity prices declined 2.5 percent while prices for utility (piped) gas service increased 5.8 percent.

Over the year, the energy index decreased 5.7 percent. Price decreases in motor fuel (-10.1 percent) and electricity (-5.2 percent) were partially offset by an increase in prices for utility (piped) gas service (15.0 percent).

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.6 percent during the March-April pricing period. Among the components of the index, increases were recorded for shelter (1.0 percent) and medical care (1.9 percent).

From April 2012 to April 2013, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.1 percent, reflecting higher prices for medical care (12.5 percent), other goods and services (10.7 percent) and shelter (1.1 percent).

Table A. Atlanta metropolitan area CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2008		2009		2010		2011		2012		2013
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	0.7	4.8	1.1	-2.4	1.1	1.7	1.6	1.5	1.0	2.4	1.9	2.1
April	1.1	3.7	0.0	-3.5	0.7	2.4	1.7	2.5	1.1	1.8	0.1	1.1
June	2.7	4.9	2.2	-4.0	0.3	0.6	0.9	3.1	0.6	1.5	-	-
August	-0.3	5.0	-0.1	-3.8	-0.1	0.6	0.6	3.8	0.6	1.5	-	-
October	-2.4	2.2	-1.1	-2.6	-0.8	0.9	-1.5	3.1	-1.2	1.8	-	-
December	-4.6	-2.9	-0.3	1.8	-0.2	1.0	-0.3	3.0	-0.9	1.2	-	-

____________

The June 2013 Consumer Price Index for Atlanta is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, July 16, 2013 at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index for Atlanta is published bi-monthly. 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 the 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.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 800-877-8339.