Utility (piped) gas averaged $1.112 per therm in the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island area in July 2014, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that natural gas prices were down compared to last July when area households paid $1.171 per therm. Gasoline prices averaged $3.839 a gallon, little changed from the $3.823 per gallon paid in July 2013. At 0.208 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), electricity prices were unchanged over the year. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)

At $3.839 a gallon, New York area consumers paid 4.0 percent above the $3.690 national average in July 2014. A year earlier, consumers in the New York area paid 3.7 percent more than the national average for a gallon of gasoline. In the past five years, the local price of a gallon of gasoline in July has been within 6 percent of the national average price. (See chart 1.)

The 20.8 cents per kWh New York households paid for electricity in July 2014 was 45.5 percent more than the national average of 14.3 cents per kWh. Last July, electricity costs were 51.8 percent higher in New York compared to the nation. In the past five years in the month of July, prices paid by New York area consumers for electricity have exceeded the U.S. average by at least 45 percent. (See chart 2.)

Prices paid by New York area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.112 per therm, or 1.7 percent above the national average in July 2014 ($1.093 per therm). A year earlier, area consumers paid 14.2 percent more per therm for natural gas compared to the nation. In July 2014, local area natural gas prices exceeded the nationwide July average by the lowest amount since 2010. (See chart 3.)

The New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Conn.-Pa. Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) consists of Bronx, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties in New York State; Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren Counties in New Jersey; Fairfield County and parts of Litchfield, Middlesex, and New Haven Counties in Connecticut; and Pike County in Pennsylvania.

Technical Note

Average prices are estimated from Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for selected commodity series to support the research and analytic needs of CPI data users. Average prices for electricity, utility (piped) gas, and gasoline are published monthly for the U.S. city average, the 4 regions, the 3 population size classes, 10 region/size-class cross-classifications, and the 14 largest local index areas. For electricity, average prices per kilowatt-hour (kWh) are published. For utility (piped) gas, average prices per therm, are published. For gasoline, the average price per gallon is published. Average prices for commonly available grades of gasoline are published as well as the average price across all grades.

All eligible prices are converted to a price per normalized quantity. These prices are then used to estimate a price for a defined fixed quantity. The average price per kilowatt-hour represents the total bill divided by the kilowatt-hour usage. The total bill is the sum of all items applicable to all consumers appearing on an electricity bill including, but not limited to, variable rates per kWh, fixed costs, taxes, surcharges, and credits. This calculation also applies to the average price per therm for utility (piped) gas.

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. Average prices for gasoline, electricity, and utility (piped) gas, New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island and the United States, July 2013-July 2014, not seasonally adjusted

Year and month	Gasoline per gallon		Electricity per kWh		Utility (piped) gas per therm
	New York area	United States	New York area	United States	New York area	United States
2013
July	$3.823	$3.687	$0.208	$0.137	$1.171	$1.025
August	3.825	3.658	0.197	0.137	1.137	1.003
September	3.764	3.616	0.213	0.137	1.148	1.000
October	3.554	3.434	0.188	0.132	1.160	0.999
November	3.500	3.310	0.191	0.130	1.077	0.999
December	3.610	3.333	0.196	0.131	1.086	0.998
2014
January	3.593	3.378	0.232	0.134	1.222	1.040
February	3.606	3.422	0.207	0.134	1.199	1.078
March	3.695	3.590	0.213	0.135	1.176	1.154
April	3.768	3.717	0.196	0.131	1.209	1.137
May	3.835	3.745	0.205	0.136	1.195	1.111
June	3.852	3.750	0.211	0.143	1.130	1.088
July	3.839	3.690	0.208	0.143	1.112	1.093