Prices in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), ticked up 0.1 percent in June following a 0.4-percent increase in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli said that higher prices for energy and food were largely offset by price reductions for other categories. (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 increased 2.0 percent. The index for all items less food and energy rose 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

Food prices edged up 0.2 percent in June, after inching up 0.1 percent in May. Prices for food at home rose 0.3 percent. Higher prices were recorded for 3 of the 6 grocery groups, led by nonalcoholic beverages (including carbonated drinks) and cereals and bakery products. Prices for food away from home increased 0.1 percent.

For the year ended in June 2018, the food index rose 2.4 percent, with prices 3.6 percent higher for food away from home and 1.5 percent higher for food at home.

Energy

Over the month, energy prices rose 1.9 percent, after increasing 4.6 percent in May. Following advances of 7.2 percent in May and 5.1 percent in April, gasoline prices increased 1.5 percent. Household energy prices rose 2.2 percent, with a 3.4-percent increase for electricity tempered by a 1.4-percent decrease for natural gas.

From June 2017 to June 2018, the energy index rose 12.3 percent. Gasoline price climbed 23.3 percent. Prices for household energy rose 5.2 percent, in part due to a 6.4-percent increase in natural gas prices and a 0.9-percent rise in electricity charges.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy ticked down 0.1 percent, continuing a pattern of little change since a 0.4-percent increase in February. Shelter prices dipped 0.1 percent, due to a decline in lodging away from home. Residential rent was unchanged over the month. Apparel prices, often down in June, declined 5.1 percent. Lower prices were also reported for household furnishings and operations (-1.4 percent) and for motor vehicle insurance (-0.6 percent). These declines were partly offset by higher prices for recreation and other goods and services, each of which rose 1.3 percent.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.2 percent. Shelter prices increased 2.1 percent, including a 2.5-percent rise in owners’ equivalent rent and a 1.8-percent increase in residential rent. Other goods and services (2.7 percent) and medical care (2.1 percent) were the only other categories with price increases exceeding 2.0 percent. In contrast, prices fell for apparel (-2.8 percent), for household furnishings and operations (-2.6 percent), and for education and communication (-0.4 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	0.0	1.7
April	-0.2	1.4	0.0	1.6	0.1	0.0	0.4	1.0	0.1	2.0	0.3	1.9
May	0.1	1.4	0.5	1.9	0.4	-0.1	0.3	0.9	0.1	1.8	0.4	2.2
June	0.3	1.8	0.0	1.7	0.2	0.1	0.2(R)	0.9(R)	0.2	1.8	0.1	2.0
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 June, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 269.348, up 0.1 percent over the month. The CPI-W rose 2.3 percent over the year.

The July 2018 Consumer Price Index for New York-Newark-Jersey City is scheduled to be released Friday, August 10, 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.

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, New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, not seasonally adjusted
(1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	April 2018	May 2018	June 2018	June 2017	April 2018	May 2018
Expenditure category
All items	272.950	274.001	274.170	2.0	0.4	0.1
All items (1967=100)	789.060	792.098	792.589
Food and beverages	265.504	265.892	266.694	2.4	0.4	0.3
Food	265.777	266.126	266.740	2.4	0.4	0.2
Food at home	255.712	254.915	255.693	1.5	0.0	0.3
Cereals and bakery products	304.872	299.737	305.975		0.4	2.1
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	252.465	249.946	252.605		0.1	1.1
Dairy and related products	220.696	221.840	220.666		0.0	-0.5
Fruits and vegetables	328.053	328.729	321.847		-1.9	-2.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	251.067	243.716	252.958		0.8	3.8
Other food at home	222.763	227.023	224.946		1.0	-0.9
Food away from home	287.238	289.241	289.637	3.6	0.8	0.1
Alcoholic beverages	257.265	258.191	261.554	3.2	1.7	1.3
Housing	296.698	297.999	298.099	2.0	0.5	0.0
Shelter	375.314	375.974	375.650	2.1	0.1	-0.1
Rent of primary residence(2)	387.142	387.701	387.522	1.8	0.1	0.0
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)(3)	382.310	382.808	383.104	2.5	0.2	0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)(3)	381.837	382.333	382.629	2.5	0.2	0.1
Fuels and utilities	195.264	199.952	204.415	5.2	4.7	2.2
Household energy	187.432	192.391	196.675	5.2	4.9	2.2
Energy services(2)	177.673	183.784	186.826	2.5	5.2	1.7
Electricity(2)	180.823	186.309	192.726	0.9	6.6	3.4
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	162.534	169.258	166.908	6.4	2.7	-1.4
Household furnishings and operations	108.719	109.922	108.371	-2.6	-0.3	-1.4
Apparel	126.845	128.388	121.897	-2.8	-3.9	-5.1
Transportation	221.455	225.887	226.460	5.3	2.3	0.3
Private transportation	208.199	212.265	213.066	6.9	2.3	0.4
New and used motor vehicles(4)	91.936	91.553	91.597		-0.4	0.0
New vehicles(1)	201.345	200.867	200.946		-0.2	0.0
Used cars and trucks(1)	268.043	266.192	267.577		-0.2	0.5
Motor fuel	223.490	239.617	243.146	23.3	8.8	1.5
Gasoline (all types)	222.458	238.543	242.052	23.3	8.8	1.5
Gasoline, unleaded regular(5)	221.689	238.227	241.625	24.0	9.0	1.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(5)(6)	228.560	242.703	247.675	19.8	8.4	2.0
Gasoline, unleaded premium(5)	229.945	242.850	247.015	18.4	7.4	1.7
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	744.334	744.334	740.009		-0.6	-0.6
Medical care	486.757	484.483	485.040	2.1	-0.4	0.1
Recreation(4)	124.256	122.232	123.824	0.4	-0.3	1.3
Education and communication(4)	141.425	141.160	141.443	-0.4	0.0	0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,165.931	1,166.194	1,166.517		0.1	0.0
Other goods and services	427.507	427.744	433.209	2.7	1.3	1.3
Commodity and service group
All items	272.950	274.001	274.170	2.0	0.4	0.1
Commodities	191.125	192.474	192.218	2.7	0.6	-0.1
Commodities less food and beverages	145.758	147.465	146.741	2.9	0.7	-0.5
Nondurables less food and beverages	187.328	190.758	189.254	5.0	1.0	-0.8
Durables	93.446	93.173	93.343	-1.3	-0.1	0.2
Services	342.330	343.230	343.699	1.8	0.4	0.1
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	263.665	264.860	265.013	2.1	0.5	0.1
All items less shelter	232.455	233.694	234.083	2.1	0.7	0.2
Commodities less food	150.005	151.698	151.093	3.0	0.7	-0.4
Nondurables	228.173	230.248	229.795	3.6	0.7	-0.2
Nondurables less food	191.650	194.951	193.710	4.9	1.1	-0.6
Services less rent of shelter(3)	317.469	318.659	320.028	1.5	0.8	0.4
Services less medical care services	330.311	331.513	331.965	1.7	0.5	0.1
Energy	203.774	213.077	217.130	12.3	6.6	1.9
All items less energy	281.577	281.819	281.606	1.3	0.0	-0.1
All items less food and energy	286.247	286.474	286.132	1.2	0.0	-0.1
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base. (2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (3) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (4) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (5) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (6) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.