Prices in the Midwest Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), inched down 0.1 percent in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The October decrease was most influenced by lower energy prices. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 1.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.6 percent over the year and food prices rose 3.2 percent. In contrast, energy prices dropped 9.2 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.4 percent for the month of October. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 0.7 percent and prices for food away from home crept up 0.2 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 3.2 percent. Prices for food away from home advanced 3.6 percent since a year ago and prices for food at home rose 2.9 percent.

Energy

The energy index fell 2.3 percent over the month. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for electricity (-5.0 percent). Prices for gasoline also declined, down 1.3 percent, while prices for natural gas service advanced 0.6 percent for the same period.

Energy prices dropped 9.2 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-18.8 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service advanced 3.9 percent and prices for electricity increased 0.5 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy was unchanged in October. Among the expenditure categories registering higher costs were new and used motor vehicles (0.8 percent), shelter (0.2 percent), and apparel (1.3 percent). Helping to offset these increases, prices fell for motor vehicle insurance (-3.3 percent), medical care commodities (-2.1 percent), and education and communication (-0.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.6 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (1.9 percent), new and used motor vehicles (7.1 percent), and medical care services (3.6 percent). Partly countering the increases were price decreases in apparel (-6.4 percent) and motor vehicle insurance (-8.2 percent).

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

Month	2016		2017		2018		2019		2020
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	-0.3	0.8	0.7	2.2	0.4	1.6	-0.2	0.8	0.4	2.5
February	0.2	0.4	0.8	2.4	0.9	1.7	0.9	1.3	0.3	2.1
March	0.6	0.5	0.2	1.9	0.4	1.8	1.3	1.7	-0.5	1.0
April	1.1	0.8	0.5	1.8	0.6	1.8	0.9	1.5	-1.1	-0.4
May	0.8	0.8	0.4	1.4	0.9	2.3	0.6	1.3	0.3	-0.4
June	1.0	0.8	0.0	0.9	0.7	2.5	0.3	1.2	0.8	0.4
July	0.1	0.4	0.1	1.3	0.1	2.4	0.2	1.5	0.5	0.7
August	-0.3	0.6	0.3	1.5	-0.1	2.1	0.2	1.5	0.4	1.1
September	0.4	1.1	0.5	1.5	0.1	1.9	0.0	1.4	0.2	1.3
October	0.1	1.0	0.1	1.5	0.2	2.2	0.2	1.5	-0.1	1.0
November	-0.4	1.2	0.0	1.9	-0.5	1.4	0.0	1.9
December	-0.2	1.8	0.0	1.7	-0.9	1.3	-0.2	2.3

The November 2020 Consumer Price Index for the Midwest Region is scheduled to be released on Thursday, December 10, 2020.

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 93 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 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 75 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 22,000 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/pdf/homch17.pdf.

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 Midwest region is comprised of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

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.

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

Expenditure category	Indexes			Percent change from
	Aug. 2020	Sep. 2020	Oct. 2020	Oct. 2019	Aug. 2020	Sep. 2020
All items	241.362	241.878	241.740	1.0	0.2	-0.1
All items (December 1977 = 100)	392.710	393.550	393.324
Food and beverages	254.994	255.255	256.336	3.2	0.5	0.4
Food	254.488	254.773	255.915	3.2	0.6	0.4
Food at home	234.738	232.725	234.245	2.9	-0.2	0.7
Cereals and bakery products	262.515	265.766	265.042	2.9	1.0	-0.3
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	262.086	259.576	259.723	5.0	-0.9	0.1
Dairy and related products	208.633	205.470	206.071	4.4	-1.2	0.3
Fruits and vegetables	271.670	267.271	272.740	1.1	0.4	2.0
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	166.247	165.299	166.397	1.9	0.1	0.7
Other food at home	204.547	202.170	203.941	2.3	-0.3	0.9
Food away from home	287.265	291.003	291.593	3.6	1.5	0.2
Alcoholic beverages	259.869	259.826	260.147	2.3	0.1	0.1
Housing	238.822	238.977	238.811	1.8	0.0	-0.1
Shelter	287.179	286.953	287.428	1.9	0.1	0.2
Rent of primary residence(1)	288.963	289.072	289.897	3.0	0.3	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)(2)	293.867	293.778	294.451	2.6	0.2	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)(2)	293.789	293.701	294.372	2.6	0.2	0.2
Fuels and utilities	225.260	228.918	223.323	1.7	-0.9	-2.4
Household energy	180.476	184.255	178.375	1.2	-1.2	-3.2
Energy services(1)	188.155	192.147	185.740	1.5	-1.3	-3.3
Electricity(1)	212.582	213.271	202.512	0.5	-4.7	-5.0
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	137.092	146.049	146.951	3.9	7.2	0.6
Household furnishings and operations	117.653	117.054	117.929	1.2	0.2	0.7
Apparel	107.366	110.971	112.418	-6.4	4.7	1.3
Transportation	198.115	197.449	196.665	-2.9	-0.7	-0.4
Private transportation	195.883	195.381	194.860	-1.5	-0.5	-0.3
New and used motor vehicles(3)	101.697	102.820	103.630	7.1	1.9	0.8
New vehicles	139.697	140.250	140.731	3.6	0.7	0.3
New cars and trucks(3)(4)	98.745	99.128	99.469	3.6	0.7	0.3
New cars(4)	138.616	139.186	139.786	5.6	0.8	0.4
Used cars and trucks	149.390	152.937	154.432	12.3	3.4	1.0
Motor fuel	192.626	190.380	187.838	-18.9	-2.5	-1.3
Gasoline (all types)	191.645	189.403	186.878	-18.8	-2.5	-1.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	185.785	183.572	180.991	-19.1	-2.6	-1.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	227.404	225.632	223.528	-16.6	-1.7	-0.9
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	219.246	216.748	215.486	-15.9	-1.7	-0.6
Motor vehicle insurance(6)	746.387	705.868	682.429	-8.2	-8.6	-3.3
Medical care	521.898	522.679	520.319	2.4	-0.3	-0.5
Medical care commodities	390.020	386.677	378.711	-2.8	-2.9	-2.1
Medical care services	565.988	568.082	567.491	3.6	0.3	-0.1
Professional services	429.448	430.329	430.030	2.0	0.1	-0.1
Recreation(3)	122.053	123.799	123.656	1.8	1.3	-0.1
Education and communication(3)	141.137	141.456	141.188	2.5	0.0	-0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)	1,212.665	1,218.868	1,219.259	1.1	0.5	0.0
Other goods and services	443.845	445.046	444.292	1.0	0.1	-0.2
Commodity and service group
Commodities	179.274	179.758	180.172	0.0	0.5	0.2
Commodities less food and beverages	143.765	144.309	144.462	-1.9	0.5	0.1
Nondurables less food and beverages	181.997	182.319	181.590	-7.4	-0.2	-0.4
Durables	104.535	105.148	105.807	4.6	1.2	0.6
Services	305.595	306.135	305.381	1.7	-0.1	-0.2
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	227.396	228.160	227.818	0.7	0.2	-0.1
All items less medical care	228.063	228.567	228.537	0.9	0.2	0.0
Commodities less food	147.306	147.836	147.994	-1.7	0.5	0.1
Nondurables	217.533	217.827	217.957	-1.8	0.2	0.1
Nondurables less food	186.299	186.597	185.937	-6.6	-0.2	-0.4
Services less rent of shelter(2)	334.528	335.902	333.788	1.4	-0.2	-0.6
Services less medical care services	286.104	286.522	285.751	1.4	-0.1	-0.3
Energy	186.154	187.227	182.841	-9.2	-1.8	-2.3
All items less energy	249.736	250.207	250.459	1.8	0.3	0.1
All items less food and energy	249.628	250.134	250.229	1.6	0.2	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. (6) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.