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News Release Information

14-1990-PHI
Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Consumer Price Index, Northeast Region — September 2014

Regional Prices Unchanged Over the Month; Up 1.2 Percent Over the Year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Northeast was unchanged in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. A 2.4-percent decline in the energy index since August was offset by increases in the all items less food and energy index and the food index, up 0.2 and 0.4 percent, respectively. (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 1.2 percent, due mainly to an advance in the all items less food and energy index, up 1.5 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.)  The food index also rose since September 2013, up 2.4 percent, while the energy index declined 3.1 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Over the month, food prices rose 0.4 percent, following a 0.2-percent decrease in August. Prices for the food at home component increased 0.5 percent and those for food away from home edged up 0.3 percent.

Over the year, the food index advanced 2.4 percent. Prices were higher for both the food at home and food away from home components, up 2.2 and 2.7 percent, respectively, since September 2013.

Energy

The energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, declined for the fourth consecutive month, down 2.4 percent since August and 5.5 percent since May.  The one-month decrease was due mainly to a 2.6-percent decline in gasoline prices. Prices were also lower for electricity (-2.4 percent) and utility (piped) gas service (-1.8 percent) in September.

Energy prices declined over the year, down 3.1 percent, reflecting price decreases for all three major components.  Gasoline prices were down 4.7 percent since September 2013; prices were also lower for utility (piped) gas service and electricity, down 4.0 and 0.7 percent, respectively.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.2 percent over the month. A seasonal increase in prices for apparel (3.7 percent) led the advance. Higher prices for medical care (0.3 percent), among others, were moderated by lower prices for recreation and household furnishings and operations (-0.1 percent each) since August.

The all items less food and energy index rose 1.5 percent over the year. The advance primarily reflected a 2.5-percent increase in prices for shelter. Lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-1.0 percent) and recreation (-0.1 percent) moderated the increase in the all items less food and energy index since last September. 

Table A. Northeast region CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index (not seasonally adjusted)
Month 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
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

0.2 0.5 0.4 3.0 0.4 1.6 0.4 2.9 0.3 1.8 0.6 1.5

February

0.6 0.7 0.0 2.5 0.5 2.0 0.4 2.8 0.6 2.0 0.1 1.0

March

0.2 0.2 0.3 2.6 0.8 2.5 0.5 2.5 0.0 1.5 0.5 1.5

April

0.2 -0.1 0.2 2.5 0.5 2.8 0.3 2.3 -0.1 1.1 0.0 1.6

May

0.1 -0.8 0.2 2.6 0.5 3.2 -0.1 1.7 0.0 1.2 0.4 2.0

June

0.8 -1.2 -0.1 1.7 0.1 3.4 -0.2 1.5 0.1 1.5 0.0 1.9

July

0.1 -1.9 0.0 1.6 0.2 3.6 -0.1 1.1 0.2 1.8 0.1 1.8

August

0.3 -1.2 0.1 1.4 0.3 3.8 0.5 1.3 0.2 1.5 -0.3 1.3

September

0.1 -0.7 -0.1 1.2 0.1 4.0 0.5 1.7 0.1 1.1 0.0 1.2

October

0.0 0.2 0.3 1.5 -0.1 3.6 0.1 1.9 -0.4 0.7    

November

0.2 2.0 0.2 1.5 -0.1 3.2 0.2 1.8 0.1 1.0    

December

-0.1 2.8 0.0 1.6 -0.3 2.9 -0.3 1.8 0.0 1.3    

The October 2014 Consumer Price Index for the Northeast region is scheduled to be released on November 20, 2014, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).


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/cpi/.

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; Federal Relay Service:  1-800-877-8339.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods

Northeast (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Expenditure category Indexes Percent change from
 
Historical
data
Jul.
2014
Aug.
2014
Sep.
2014
Sep.
2013
Jul.
2014
Aug.
2014

All items

Jump to page with historical data
253.833 253.185 253.154 1.2 -0.3 0.0

All items (December 1977 = 100)

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399.710 398.688 398.640      
 

Food and beverages

Jump to page with historical data
248.378 248.184 249.219 2.3 0.3 0.4

Food

Jump to page with historical data
248.470 248.085 249.189 2.4 0.3 0.4

Food at home

Jump to page with historical data
246.682 245.799 247.131 2.2 0.2 0.5

Food away from home

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254.217 254.568 255.348 2.7 0.4 0.3

Alcoholic beverages

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246.023 248.276 248.417 1.4 1.0 0.1
 

Housing

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262.728 262.659 262.092 1.8 -0.2 -0.2

Shelter

Jump to page with historical data
318.203 318.800 318.842 2.5 0.2 0.0

Rent of primary residence (1)

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316.988 318.041 318.594 2.7 0.5 0.2

Owners' equivalent rent of residences (1)(2)

Jump to page with historical data
328.932 329.624 330.115 2.5 0.4 0.1

Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence (1)(2)

Jump to page with historical data
328.803 329.482 329.971 2.5 0.4 0.1

Fuels and utilities

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228.027 225.661 221.569 -0.7 -2.8 -1.8

Household energy

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206.337 203.648 199.225 -1.5 -3.4 -2.2

Energy services (1)

Jump to page with historical data
195.973 193.235 188.904 -1.5 -3.6 -2.2

Electricity (1)

Jump to page with historical data
201.255 199.230 194.473 -0.7 -3.4 -2.4

Utility (piped) gas service (1)

Jump to page with historical data
172.430 168.181 165.094 -4.0 -4.3 -1.8

Household furnishings and operations

Jump to page with historical data
125.075 124.391 124.274 -1.0 -0.6 -0.1
 

Apparel

Jump to page with historical data
127.594 129.552 134.297 0.4 5.3 3.7
 

Transportation

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221.760 217.996 215.981 -0.9 -2.6 -0.9

Private transportation

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214.021 210.969 208.854 -0.8 -2.4 -1.0

New and used motor vehicles (3)

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98.989 98.967 98.456 -0.4 -0.5 -0.5

New vehicles

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144.529 144.379 144.073 0.1 -0.3 -0.2

New cars and trucks (3)(4)

Jump to page with historical data
100.125 100.016 99.805 0.0 -0.3 -0.2

New cars (4)

Jump to page with historical data
137.791 137.473 136.765 -1.4 -0.7 -0.5

Used cars and trucks

Jump to page with historical data
160.237 160.768 158.793 0.3 -0.9 -1.2

Motor fuel

Jump to page with historical data
310.631 297.424 289.733 -4.6 -6.7 -2.6

Gasoline (all types)

Jump to page with historical data
309.385 296.181 288.488 -4.7 -6.8 -2.6

Gasoline, unleaded regular (4)

Jump to page with historical data
310.426 296.513 288.556 -4.9 -7.0 -2.7

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (4)(5)

Jump to page with historical data
315.628 304.395 297.328 -3.8 -5.8 -2.3

Gasoline, unleaded premium (4)

Jump to page with historical data
300.277 289.786 283.400 -3.8 -5.6 -2.2
 

Medical care

Jump to page with historical data
455.736 455.688 457.252 1.7 0.3 0.3

Medical care commodities

Jump to page with historical data
371.719 371.018 373.091 1.9 0.4 0.6

Medical care services

Jump to page with historical data
478.780 478.958 480.327 1.8 0.3 0.3

Professional services

Jump to page with historical data
352.808 353.313 354.163 0.8 0.4 0.2
 

Recreation (3)

Jump to page with historical data
120.428 119.552 119.424 -0.1 -0.8 -0.1
 

Education and communication (3)

Jump to page with historical data
137.911 138.465 138.767 0.6 0.6 0.2
 

Other goods and services

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441.551 440.729 442.129 1.9 0.1 0.3
 

Commodity and service group

 

Commodities

Jump to page with historical data
196.256 195.065 195.291 0.1 -0.5 0.1

Commodities less food and beverages

Jump to page with historical data
165.775 164.205 164.073 -1.2 -1.0 -0.1

Nondurables less food and beverages

Jump to page with historical data
216.978 214.094 214.409 -1.1 -1.2 0.1

Durables

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108.939 108.628 108.116 -1.4 -0.8 -0.5

Services

Jump to page with historical data
310.242 310.073 309.809 1.8 -0.1 -0.1
 

Special aggregate indexes

 

All items less shelter

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232.201 231.075 231.017 0.5 -0.5 0.0

All items less medical care

Jump to page with historical data
244.920 244.248 244.152 1.1 -0.3 0.0

Commodities less food

Jump to page with historical data
168.867 167.405 167.281 -1.1 -0.9 -0.1

Nondurables

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233.625 231.993 232.652 0.6 -0.4 0.3

Nondurables less food

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218.585 216.014 216.318 -0.9 -1.0 0.1

Services less rent of shelter (2)

Jump to page with historical data
312.606 311.577 310.975 1.0 -0.5 -0.2

Services less medical care services

Jump to page with historical data
298.512 298.323 297.963 1.8 -0.2 -0.1

Energy

Jump to page with historical data
250.014 242.939 237.149 -3.1 -5.1 -2.4

All items less energy

Jump to page with historical data
256.691 256.702 257.267 1.6 0.2 0.2

All items less food and energy

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259.814 259.895 260.369 1.5 0.2 0.2

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.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, October 22, 2014