The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Northeast region rose 0.5 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that an advance of 3.0 percent in the energy index was largely responsible for the overall increase since July. The all items less food and energy index also contributed to the overall rise, up 0.3 percent, while the food index was nearly unchanged, inching up 0.1 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 1.3 percent due mainly to an advance in the all items less food and energy component, up 1.7 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The food component also rose, up 2.0 percent, while energy prices declined 2.4 percent since August 2011. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index inched up 0.1 percent in August, reflecting small price increases for both food away from home (0.2 percent) and food at home (0.1 percent).

Over the year, the food index advanced 2.0 percent. Prices for the food away from home and food at home components were up 2.5 and 1.7 percent, respectively.

Energy

Following three months of declines totaling 6.7 percent, the energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, rose 3.0 percent in August. The recent one-month increase reflected higher prices for gasoline, up 5.6 percent since July. Moderating the rise in the energy index were lower prices for electricity, down 0.8 percent. Utility (piped) gas service prices were unchanged over the month.

Despite the recent one-month increase, energy prices were down 2.4 percent over the year. Utility (piped) gas service prices dropped 12.3 percent, their 22nd consecutive over-the-year decrease, and electricity prices fell 3.6 percent, their 10th. Gasoline prices rose 0.6 percent since August 2011, partially offsetting these declines.

All items less food and energy

Led by a seasonal increase in apparel prices (3.5 percent), the index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent since July. Also contributing to the recent advance were higher prices for shelter, particularly owners’ equivalent rent of residences (0.2 percent each). Lower prices for new and used motor vehicles (-0.3 percent) and recreation (-0.2 percent) helped to moderate the one-month increase in the all items less food and energy index.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.7 percent over the year. The 12-month advance was led by higher shelter prices (1.8 percent), particularly those for owners’ equivalent rent of residences (2.0 percent). Widespread price increases among other components, including medical care (4.0 percent), also contributed to the rise in the all items less food and energy index since August 2011.

The September 2012 Consumer Price Index for the Northeast region is scheduled to be released on October 16, 2012, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

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

Month	2007		2008		2009		2010		2011		2012
	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	0.3	2.3	0.4	3.9	0.2	0.5	0.4	3.0	0.4	1.6	0.4	2.9
February	0.4	2.4	0.4	4.0	0.6	0.7	0.0	2.5	0.5	2.0	0.4	2.8
March	0.8	2.6	0.8	3.9	0.2	0.2	0.3	2.6	0.8	2.5	0.5	2.5
April	0.5	2.2	0.5	3.9	0.2	-0.1	0.2	2.5	0.5	2.8	0.3	2.3
May	0.5	2.3	0.9	4.3	0.1	-0.8	0.2	2.6	0.5	3.2	-0.1	1.7
June	0.4	2.3	1.1	5.0	0.8	-1.2	-0.1	1.7	0.1	3.4	-0.2	1.5
July	0.2	2.0	0.8	5.7	0.1	-1.9	0.0	1.6	0.2	3.6	-0.1	1.1
August	-0.2	1.6	-0.3	5.5	0.3	-1.2	0.1	1.4	0.3	3.8	0.5	1.3
September	-0.1	2.4	-0.4	5.2	0.1	-0.7	-0.1	1.2	0.1	4.0
October	0.2	3.1	-0.9	4.0	0.0	0.2	0.3	1.5	-0.1	3.6
November	0.6	4.0	-1.6	1.7	0.2	2.0	0.2	1.5	-0.1	3.2
December	0.0	3.8	-0.9	0.7	-0.1	2.8	0.0	1.6	-0.3	2.9

 

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 88 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 87 urban areas across the country from about 4,000 housing units and approximately 26,000 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/homch17_a.htm.

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 Northeast region is comprised of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number:  1-800-877-8339.

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

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from
	Historical data	Jun. 2012	Jul. 2012	Aug. 2012	Aug. 2011	Jun. 2012	Jul. 2012
All items		245.201	244.984	246.252	1.3	0.4	0.5
All items (December 1977 = 100)		386.116	385.775	387.771
Food and beverages		240.039	240.190	240.463	2.0	0.2	0.1
Food		239.798	239.952	240.308	2.0	0.2	0.1
Food at home		239.056	238.950	239.199	1.7	0.1	0.1
Food away from home		243.906	244.446	244.964	2.5	0.4	0.2
Alcoholic beverages		241.963	242.071	241.123	1.6	-0.3	-0.4
Housing		251.619	251.688	252.171	1.0	0.2	0.2
Shelter		303.136	303.620	304.202	1.8	0.4	0.2
Rent of primary residence (1)		300.242	300.890	301.813	2.5	0.5	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of residences (1) (2)		313.774	314.409	315.178	2.0	0.4	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence (1) (2)		313.681	314.307	315.074	2.0	0.4	0.2
Fuels and utilities		215.185	213.541	214.408	-4.0	-0.4	0.4
Household energy		194.873	192.831	193.613	-5.5	-0.6	0.4
Energy services (1)		185.112	182.967	181.847	-6.5	-1.8	-0.6
Electricity (1)		190.619	187.590	186.002	-3.6	-2.4	-0.8
Utility (piped) gas service (1)		162.510	162.334	162.254	-12.3	-0.2	0.0
Household furnishings and operations		128.380	128.357	128.209	1.0	-0.1	-0.1
Apparel		126.999	125.107	129.468	2.2	1.9	3.5
Transportation		214.475	213.659	216.851	0.7	1.1	1.5
Private transportation		207.362	206.743	210.547	0.9	1.5	1.8
New and used motor vehicles (3)		99.939	99.843	99.509	-1.0	-0.4	-0.3
New vehicles		142.576	142.371	142.275	0.4	-0.2	-0.1
New cars and trucks (3) (4)		98.817	98.674	98.609	0.4	-0.2	-0.1
New cars (4)		138.334	138.215	138.203	-0.3	-0.1	0.0
Used cars and trucks		164.734	165.205	164.055	0.0	-0.4	-0.7
Motor fuel		296.226	293.789	310.036	0.6	4.7	5.5
Gasoline (all types)		295.081	292.702	308.989	0.6	4.7	5.6
Gasoline, unleaded regular (4)		296.395	293.771	310.480	0.4	4.8	5.7
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (4) (5)		300.810	298.828	314.505	1.0	4.6	5.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium (4)		285.020	283.613	298.182	1.2	4.6	5.1
Medical care		437.098	438.180	439.433	4.0	0.5	0.3
Medical care commodities		366.859	370.806	373.346	5.4	1.8	0.7
Medical care services		454.557	454.432	455.123	3.5	0.1	0.2
Professional services		342.037	341.375	341.370	1.2	-0.2	0.0
Recreation (3)		119.880	119.766	119.586	0.4	-0.2	-0.2
Education and communication (3)		134.973	134.788	135.460	1.0	0.4	0.5
Other goods and services		427.178	427.746	428.773	2.7	0.4	0.2
Commodity and service group
Commodities		193.235	192.791	194.931	1.2	0.9	1.1
Commodities less food and beverages		165.193	164.507	167.378	0.8	1.3	1.7
Nondurables less food and beverages		212.243	211.091	217.193	1.3	2.3	2.9
Durables		112.191	111.988	111.597	-0.1	-0.5	-0.3
Services		296.218	296.215	296.666	1.4	0.2	0.2
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		225.877	225.399	226.930	1.1	0.5	0.7
All items less medical care		236.713	236.448	237.710	1.2	0.4	0.5
Commodities less food		168.196	167.528	170.310	0.9	1.3	1.7
Nondurables		227.168	226.616	230.041	1.6	1.3	1.5
Nondurables less food		213.930	212.844	218.576	1.4	2.2	2.7
Services less rent of shelter (2)		299.263	298.715	299.029	0.9	-0.1	0.1
Services less medical care services		285.156	285.159	285.594	1.2	0.2	0.2
Energy		237.253	235.042	242.207	-2.4	2.1	3.0
All items less energy		248.396	248.389	249.043	1.7	0.3	0.3
All items less food and energy		251.518	251.481	252.195	1.7	0.3	0.3
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.
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.