The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the South was unchanged in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The energy index was down 1.0 percent over the month, while the index for all items less food and energy inched up 0.1 percent. The food index was also up 0.1 percent in July. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The all items CPI-U was up 2.9 percent for the 12 months ending July. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.4 percent over the past year, while the energy index advanced 10.8 percent and the food index rose 1.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index inched up 0.1 percent in July, reflecting increases in both the food at home index and the food away from home index, up 0.1 percent each.    

The food index rose 1.0 percent since July 2017, primarily due to a 2.1-percent increase in the food away from home index. The food at home index edged up 0.2 percent over the year.

Energy

The energy index was down 1.0 percent in July, reflecting declines in the motor fuel (-1.5 percent), electricity (-0.5 percent), and utility (piped) gas service (-0.4 percent) indexes.

From July 2017—July 2018, the energy index advanced 10.8 percent, fueled by a 25.8-percent increase in the motor fuel index. Over the year, the electricity and the utility (piped) gas service indexes declined, down 2.4 and 4.0 percent, respectively.

All items less food and energy

In July 2018, the index for all items less food and energy inched up 0.1 percent. An increase in the shelter index (0.3 percent), was largely offset by a seasonal decline in the apparel index (-2.8 percent).   

Since July 2017, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.4 percent. The shelter index contributed to the increase, up 3.3 percent over the year.

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

Month	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
January	0.3	1.7	-0.7	-0.4	0.0	1.2	0.5	2.6	0.5	1.8
February	0.4	1.2	0.5	-0.3	0.1	0.7	0.2	2.8	0.6	2.1
March	0.6	1.5	0.6	-0.3	0.6	0.7	0.0	2.2	0.2	2.3
April	0.5	2.3	0.3	-0.6	0.4	0.9	0.2	2.0	0.4	2.4
May	0.2	2.4	0.4	-0.4	0.4	0.9	0.0	1.7	0.3	2.7
June	0.2	2.3	0.5	-0.1	0.4	0.8	0.2	1.5	0.2	2.7
July	-0.1	2.0	-0.1	-0.1	-0.2	0.7	-0.2	1.6	0.0	2.9
August	-0.2	1.7	-0.2	-0.2	0.1	1.0	0.4	1.9
September	0.1	1.7	-0.2	-0.4	0.2	1.4	0.7	2.4
October	-0.3	1.6	0.0	-0.1	0.1	1.5	-0.2	2.0
November	-0.6	1.3	-0.2	0.3	-0.1	1.6	-0.1	2.1
December	-0.6	0.6	-0.4	0.5	0.1	2.0	-0.1	1.8

The Consumer Price Index for August 2018 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, September 13, 2018.

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 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 South region is comprised of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

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
South (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	May 2018	June 2018	July 2018	July 2017	May 2018	June 2018
Expenditure category
All Items	243.279	243.770	243.776	2.9	0.2	0.0
All items (December 1977=100)	394.632	395.429	395.438	-	-	-
Food and beverages	249.818	250.208	250.474	1.0	0.3	0.1
Food	251.137	251.502	251.835	1.0	0.3	0.1
Food at home	237.315	237.459	237.752	0.2	0.2	0.1
Cereal and bakery products	276.967	277.972	277.871	-	0.3	0.0
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	244.319	243.526	244.980	-	0.3	0.6
Dairy and related products	217.733	218.148	216.153	-	-0.7	-0.9
Fruits and vegetables	283.071	283.756	284.158	-	0.4	0.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	165.041	163.931	164.091	-	-0.6	0.1
Other food at home	209.161	210.115	210.468	-	0.6	0.2
Food away from home	274.544	275.224	275.619	2.1	0.4	0.1
Alcoholic beverages	230.980	231.737	231.031	0.9	0.0	-0.3
Housing	237.125	238.077	238.577	2.5	0.6	0.2
Shelter	273.314	273.607	274.423	3.3	0.4	0.3
Rent of primary residence	284.241	285.134	286.015	3.7	0.6	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)	274.489	275.010	275.797	3.1	0.5	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)	274.487	275.008	275.794	3.1	0.5	0.3
Fuels and utilities	234.703	240.474	239.692	-1.0	2.1	-0.3
Household energy	188.647	194.662	193.824	-2.3	2.7	-0.4
Energy services	188.588	194.734	193.878	-2.5	2.8	-0.4
Electricity	186.306	193.492	192.621	-2.4	3.4	-0.5
Utility (piped) gas service	188.205	186.650	185.967	-4.0	-1.2	-0.4
Household furnishings and operations	121.732	121.879	122.145	1.3	0.3	0.2
Apparel	140.367	137.828	133.946	3.0	-4.6	-2.8
Transportation	214.664	214.836	214.663	7.4	0.0	-0.1
Private transportation	213.323	213.631	213.617	7.9	0.1	0.0
New and used motor vehicles(2)	101.455	101.801	102.684	0.5	1.2	0.9
New vehicles	152.468	152.615	153.424	0.3	0.6	0.5
New cars and trucks(2)(3)	103.804	103.897	104.458	0.3	0.6	0.5
New cars(3)	151.953	151.794	152.949	0.6	0.7	0.8
Used cars and trucks	139.882	140.642	142.287	1.3	1.7	1.2
Motor fuel	242.557	242.553	238.872	25.8	-1.5	-1.5
Gasoline (all types)	241.430	241.336	237.621	25.8	-1.6	-1.5
Unleaded regular(3)	236.131	235.985	232.236	26.5	-1.6	-1.6
Unleaded midgrade(3)(4)	263.865	264.452	261.054	22.9	-1.1	-1.3
Unleaded premium(3)	260.125	260.358	257.344	21.1	-1.1	-1.2
Motor vehicle insurance(5)	941.433	941.337	942.302	-	0.1	0.1
Medical care	465.132	466.684	464.964	1.8	0.0	-0.4
Medical care commodities	368.873	372.730	367.567	0.3	-0.4	-1.4
Medical care services	497.420	498.160	497.651	2.1	0.0	-0.1
Professional services	365.871	365.665	365.242	1.1	-0.2	-0.1
Recreation(2)	117.420	117.923	118.616	0.6	1.0	0.6
Education and communication(2)	132.270	132.497	132.541	0.9	0.2	0.0
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)	1,296.707	1,298.695	1,298.416	-	0.1	0.0
Other goods and services	427.174	426.629	427.067	1.7	0.0	0.1
Commodity and service group
All Items	243.279	243.770	243.776	2.9	0.2	0.0
Commodities	186.230	186.232	185.807	3.3	-0.2	-0.2
Commodities less food and beverages	155.417	155.285	154.642	4.6	-0.5	-0.4
Nondurables less food and beverages	209.294	208.823	206.058	8.6	-1.5	-1.3
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel	251.849	252.430	250.150	10.3	-0.7	-0.9
Durables	107.426	107.519	108.264	0.0	0.8	0.7
Services	300.481	301.486	301.949	2.6	0.5	0.2
Rent of shelter(1)	280.587	280.885	281.728	3.3	0.4	0.3
Transportation services	359.265	359.027	359.044	4.3	-0.1	0.0
Other services	339.160	339.999	340.679	1.4	0.4	0.2
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	231.165	231.601	231.692	3.0	0.2	0.0
All items less food	241.806	242.315	242.272	3.2	0.2	0.0
All items less shelter	232.530	233.097	232.795	2.7	0.1	-0.1
Commodities less food	157.819	157.706	157.058	4.5	-0.5	-0.4
Nondurables	228.756	228.679	227.298	4.6	-0.6	-0.6
Nondurables less food	210.371	209.964	207.305	8.1	-1.5	-1.3
Nondurables less food and apparel	249.011	249.603	247.456	9.5	-0.6	-0.9
Services less rent of shelter(1)	334.857	336.752	336.770	1.8	0.6	0.0
Services less medical care services	282.726	283.743	284.277	2.7	0.5	0.2
Energy	210.180	213.119	210.919	10.8	0.4	-1.0
All items less energy	247.769	247.985	248.240	2.2	0.2	0.1
All items less food and energy	247.583	247.774	248.016	2.4	0.2	0.1
Commodities less food and energy commodities	147.381	147.251	147.019	0.6	-0.2	-0.2
Energy commodities	246.418	246.418	242.741	25.5	-1.5	-1.5
Services less energy services	312.305	312.741	313.349	3.0	0.3	0.2
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (2) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (5) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.
- Data not available. Regions defined as the four Census regions. South includes Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.