Prices in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.5 percent in February after increasing 0.4 percent in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli attributed much of the increase to rising energy and apparel prices. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the year, the CPI-U rose 1.7 percent. The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.2 percent. (See table A and chart 1.) Price increases for shelter drove the 12-month change in both indexes. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index increased 0.3 percent after edging up 0.2 percent in January. Food-at-home prices rose 0.3 percent, led by a 2.6-percent increase in prices for cereals and bakery products, including rice, pasta, and cornmeal and a 2.0-percent increase in nonalcoholic beverages, including coffee and tea. Prices for food away from home rose 0.3 percent.

Over the year, the food index increased 2.3 percent. Prices rose 3.0 percent for food away from home and 1.8 percent for food at home.

Energy

The energy index advanced 2.3 percent following a 0.9-percent rise in January. Prices for natural gas jumped 10.4 percent, the largest rise in nearly two years, and gasoline prices increased 2.4 percent for the second consecutive month. Prices for fuel oil also rose. On the other hand, electricity prices declined 1.9 percent.

For the year ended February 2018, energy prices rose 7.1 percent. Prices increased for gasoline (11.5 percent), natural gas (7.9 percent), and fuel oil. Prices for electricity, in contrast, decreased 1.2 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.4 percent for the second consecutive month. With a seasonal increase, apparel prices rose 5.2 percent after an equal rise in January. Prices for household furnishings and operations and for other goods and services each increased 1.2 percent. Shelter prices ticked up 0.1 percent due to higher prices for out-of-town lodging. Price increases were also reported for recreation (0.4 percent) and for medical care (0.3 percent). These increases were tempered by a 0.3-percent decline in prices for education and communication.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.2 percent. Shelter prices increased 2.1 percent, with residential rent up 2.2 percent. Prices also increased 2.2 percent for medical care and 2.3 percent for other goods and services. In contrast, apparel prices edged up 0.2 percent, and education and communication prices were down 2.1 percent.

Table A. New York-Newark-Jersey City CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes (not seasonally adjusted)

Month	2013		2014		2015		2016		2017		2018
	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	0.5	2.2	0.9	1.9	0.1	-0.5	0.2	0.8	0.6	2.5	0.4	1.4
February	0.6	2.4	-0.2	1.1	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.6	0.3	2.6	0.5	1.7
March	0.1	1.9	0.4	1.3	0.2	-0.1	0.2	0.7	0.0	2.3
April	-0.2	1.4	0.0	1.6	0.1	0.0	0.4	1.0	0.1	2.0
May	0.1	1.4	0.5	1.9	0.4	-0.1	0.3	0.9	0.1	1.8
June	0.3	1.8	0.0	1.7	0.2	0.1	0.2(R)	0.9(R)	0.2	1.8
July	0.2	2.1	0.1	1.6	-0.1	-0.1	-0.1	1.0	-0.2	1.6
August	0.1	1.7	-0.2	1.3	0.1	0.1	0.2	1.1	0.2	1.7
September	0.3	1.6	0.0	1.0	0.2	0.3	0.2	1.0	0.5	2.1
October	-0.6	1.1	-0.2	1.3	-0.1	0.4	0.1	1.2	-0.2	1.8
November	0.1	1.2	-0.4	0.8	-0.2	0.6	0.2	1.6	-0.1	1.6
December	0.0	1.5	-0.5	0.3	-0.4	0.7	0.1	2.1	0.1	1.6
Footnotes: (R) = revised.

CPI-W

In February, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 267.153, up 0.6 percent over the month. The CPI-W rose 1.9 percent over the year.

The March 2018 Consumer Price Index for New York-Newark-Jersey City is scheduled to be released Wednesday, April 11, 2018, 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 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 5,000 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 New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa., Core Based Statistical Area includes Bronx, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties in New York; Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, and Union Counties in New Jersey; and Pike County in Pennsylvania.

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