Prices in the Northeast Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased by 0.3 percent in June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the June increase was mostly due to a 0.3-percent rise in the all items less food and energy index, led by higher prices for shelter. The energy index rose 1.5 percent and the food index increased 0.2 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 Northeast all items CPI-U index increased 2.2 percent, the smallest over-the-year increase since March 2021, and well below the recent peak of 7.6 percent in June 2022.  The June increase was mainly due to a 3.8-percent rise in the all items less food and energy index which was led by increases within the shelter index, like the over-the-month rise. (See chart 1 and table A.) This is the fourth consecutive month that the 12-month change in the all items index has been lower than the all items less food and energy index. The food index continued moderating, rising only 5.7 percent (down from a peak of 10.3 percent in October), while the energy index decreased 17.0 percent, down for the fourth consecutive month after over 2 years of 12-month increases which peaked at 44.2 percent in June 2022. (See table 1.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Northeast region, June 2020–June 2023

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Jun 2020	0.8	1.3
Jul 2020	1.1	1.6
Aug 2020	1.1	1.6
Sep 2020	1.2	1.5
Oct 2020	1.1	1.5
Nov 2020	1.1	1.5
Dec 2020	1.4	1.6
Jan 2021	1.1	1.1
Feb 2021	1.2	0.8
Mar 2021	2.1	1.3
Apr 2021	3.3	2.5
May 2021	3.9	3.0
Jun 2021	4.6	3.9
Jul 2021	4.3	3.5
Aug 2021	4.4	3.2
Sep 2021	4.6	3.2
Oct 2021	5.4	3.7
Nov 2021	6.0	4.1
Dec 2021	5.9	4.3
Jan 2022	6.3	4.6
Feb 2022	6.6	5.0
Mar 2022	7.3	5.0
Apr 2022	7.2	4.9
May 2022	7.5	4.6
Jun 2022	7.6	4.4
Jul 2022	7.3	4.3
Aug 2022	7.4	5.0
Sep 2022	7.2	5.4
Oct 2022	6.9	5.2
Nov 2022	6.4	4.7
Dec 2022	6.1	4.8
Jan 2023	6.0	4.9
Feb 2023	5.9	5.1
Mar 2023	4.3	4.5
Apr 2023	3.8	4.2
May 2023	3.1	4.3
Jun 2023	2.2	3.8

In June, the food index was up 0.2 percent as prices for food away from home rose 0.6 percent. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home declined 0.1 percent as the grocery categories showed a mix of rising and falling prices Decreases included the fruits and vegetables index (down 1.1 percent); meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (down 0.3 percent); and cereals and bakery products (down 0.3 percent, the first decline since December 2022). Increases tempering the food at home decline were the other food at home index (up 0.6 percent), nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (up 0.6 percent), and dairy and related products (up 0.5 percent after three consecutive months of declines).

From June 2022 to June 2023, the food index increased 5.7 percent, the lowest index rise since December 2021. The food at home index rose 4.7 percent, the smallest index increase since October 2021. This was led by a 7.4-percent increase in the other food at home index. Prices for cereals and bakery products rose 9.0 percent, while nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials increased 8.9 percent over the year. The food away from home index rose 7.6 percent.

The energy index increased 1.5 percent in June after four consecutive months of declines. This was predominantly due to a 5.5-percent increase in prices for electricity, also up after four consecutive declines. Electricity prices have increased in June every year since the index began in 1978 except for June 2018. The gasoline index also rose, up 0.4 percent. Prices for utility (piped) gas decreased 2.9 percent; they have declined every month in 2023 so far.

Over the year, energy prices were down 17.0 percent, the largest decline since October 2015. A 26.5-percent decrease in the gasoline index was mainly responsible; it followed last month’s 21.2-percent decline. The fuel oil index decreased as did prices for utility (piped) gas, which were down 17.2 percent (the largest decrease since April 2015). Prices for electricity were up 7.0 percent over the year.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent in June, the same as it had been for the previous two months. This rise was mostly due to a 0.5-percent increase in the shelter index; within shelter there was a 0.6-percent rise in the owners’ equivalent rent of residences category. Also in shelter,  rent of primary residence was up 0.5 percent. The new and used motor vehicle index and the recreation index both rose 0.8 percent over the month. Countering the increases were declines in the apparel index (down 1.1 percent, as it typically decreases in June) and the medical care index (down 0.4 percent, led by a 0.4-percent decline in prices for medical care services).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy was up 3.8 percent. This increase was also mainly due to a rise in the shelter index, up 6.3 percent. Within shelter, the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index increased 6.2 percent and the rent of primary residences increased 6.6 percent. The 2.5-percent decrease in the medical care index and the 3.7-percent decrease of medical care services within that index slightly offset the overall all items less food and energy index increase.

Additional price indexes are available for the two divisions of the Northeast. Over the month, the all items CPI-U index for the Middle Atlantic division increased 0.4 percent. The CPI-U for the New England division increased 0.2 percent.

Over the year, the all items index rose 2.4 percent in the Middle Atlantic division and 1.8 percent in the New England division. (See table B.)

The July 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Northeast Region is scheduled to be released on August 10, 2023.

The Consumer Price Index for the Northeast Region is published monthly. 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 U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. 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, 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 6,000 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; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000.  Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods available on the internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/.

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.

The New England division is comprised of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

The Middle Atlantic division is comprised of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

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	Apr. 2023	May 2023	Jun. 2023	Jun. 2022	Apr. 2023	May 2023
All items		311.848	312.241	313.329	2.2	0.5	0.3
All items (December 1977 = 100)		491.065	491.685	493.397
Food and beverages		321.924	321.736	322.257	5.7	0.1	0.2
Food		324.220	323.855	324.353	5.7	0.0	0.2
Food at home		306.734	305.619	305.456	4.7	-0.4	-0.1
Cereals and bakery products		384.795	385.236	384.259	9.0	-0.1	-0.3
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		310.927	306.081	305.170	-0.6	-1.9	-0.3
Dairy and related products		279.655	276.175	277.448	3.9	-0.8	0.5
Fruits and vegetables		356.141	358.228	354.117	2.1	-0.6	-1.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		213.149	215.425	216.664	8.9	1.6	0.6
Other food at home		279.586	277.743	279.273	7.4	-0.1	0.6
Food away from home		353.192	354.585	356.600	7.6	1.0	0.6
Alcoholic beverages		290.272	292.473	293.314	5.4	1.0	0.3
Housing		333.309	332.726	334.730	4.5	0.4	0.6
Shelter		406.734	408.046	410.022	6.3	0.8	0.5
Rent of primary residence		409.454	410.567	412.417	6.6	0.7	0.5
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)		419.513	421.154	423.569	6.2	1.0	0.6
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)		419.161	420.801	423.216	6.2	1.0	0.6
Fuels and utilities		292.031	282.613	288.416	-5.9	-1.2	2.1
Household energy		261.072	250.929	256.967	-7.9	-1.6	2.4
Energy services		255.735	247.494	254.752	-1.4	-0.4	2.9
Electricity		263.170	257.285	271.488	7.0	3.2	5.5
Utility (piped) gas service		223.256	211.267	205.164	-17.2	-8.1	-2.9
Household furnishings and operations		144.516	143.445	143.507	2.8	-0.7	0.0
Apparel		134.380	135.489	133.940	3.3	-0.3	-1.1
Transportation		256.154	259.172	260.265	-4.1	1.6	0.4
Private transportation		253.727	256.389	258.252	-4.0	1.8	0.7
New and used motor vehicles(2)		126.095	127.291	128.290	0.3	1.7	0.8
New vehicles		174.076	174.665	174.870	4.5	0.5	0.1
New cars(3)		165.168	165.757	165.738	4.5	0.3	0.0
Used cars and trucks		203.997	210.671	213.212	-4.9	4.5	1.2
Motor fuel		300.236	303.850	304.743	-26.8	1.5	0.3
Gasoline (all types)		299.268	303.138	304.270	-26.5	1.7	0.4
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)		294.705	298.557	299.758	-27.2	1.7	0.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)		323.773	328.078	329.283	-24.0	1.7	0.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)		319.443	323.264	323.896	-21.9	1.4	0.2
Medical care		560.352	560.953	558.956	-2.5	-0.2	-0.4
Medical care commodities		400.255	401.928	401.499	3.9	0.3	-0.1
Medical care services		607.307	607.582	605.115	-3.7	-0.4	-0.4
Professional services		430.162	430.747	430.825	0.1	0.2	0.0
Recreation(2)		138.529	138.683	139.861	2.1	1.0	0.8
Education and communication(2)		154.437	154.225	154.150	1.3	-0.2	0.0
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)		1,379.770	1,384.923	1,384.655	3.0	0.4	0.0
Other goods and services		587.742	591.711	593.151	6.5	0.9	0.2
Commodity and service group
Commodities		227.857	228.148	228.426	-0.9	0.2	0.1
Commodities less food and beverages		178.661	179.134	179.300	-4.9	0.4	0.1
Nondurables less food and beverages		227.633	228.369	228.112	-8.9	0.2	-0.1
Durables		123.631	123.873	124.289	-0.4	0.5	0.3
Services		392.562	393.054	394.909	4.2	0.6	0.5
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		279.029	279.077	279.837	0.2	0.3	0.3
All items less medical care		300.930	301.315	302.544	2.7	0.5	0.4
Commodities less food		182.797	183.320	183.505	-4.6	0.4	0.1
Nondurables		274.211	274.496	274.619	-1.1	0.1	0.0
Nondurables less food		231.290	232.116	231.927	-7.9	0.3	-0.1
Services less rent of shelter(1)		389.951	389.495	391.254	1.6	0.3	0.5
Services less medical care services		377.749	378.256	380.415	5.1	0.7	0.6
Energy		277.641	272.659	276.781	-17.0	-0.3	1.5
All items less energy		318.911	319.776	320.615	4.1	0.5	0.3
All items less food and energy		320.004	321.090	321.993	3.8	0.6	0.3
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.