Prices in the St. Louis area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 2.4 percent for the two months ending in June 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that the food index increased 2.2 percent, and the energy index rose 23.9 percent in May and June. The all items less food and energy index advanced 0.2 percent over the past two months, mainly due to increases in prices for new and used vehicles, and also apparel. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 8.4 percent. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 4.8 percent over the year. Energy prices jumped 39.6 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline, while food prices rose 12.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 2.2 percent for the two months ending in June. Prices for food at home advanced 3.7 percent, but prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) inched down 0.1 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices jumped 12.9 percent. Prices for food at home (groceries) increased 13.7 percent since a year ago. Prices for food away from home rose 11.8 percent.

Energy

The energy index jumped 23.9 percent for the two months ending in June. The increase was partly due to higher prices for gasoline (+22.8 percent) but all energy components contributed to the increase. The index for electricity climbed (+42.7 percent), and prices for natural gas service increased 2.3 percent for the same period.

From June 2021 to June 2022, energy prices surged 39.6 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (+67.8 percent), but all components contributed. Prices paid for electricity increased 14.5 percent, and prices for natural gas service rose 22.0 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy crept up 0.2 percent in Mary and June, after rising 1.2 percent in March and April. Higher prices for new and used motor vehicles (+2.5 percent) apparel (+2.4 percent), and household furnishings and operations (+0.7 percent), were partially offset by lower prices for recreation (-2.3 percent), medical care (-0.6 percent), and owners’ equivalent rent of residences (-0.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 4.8 percent. Components most contributing to the increase included owners’ equivalent rent of residence (+4.7 percent), new and used motor vehicles (+9.9 percent), and medical care (+3.8 percent).

The August 2022 Consumer Price Index for the St. Louis area is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, September 13, 2022.

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 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, 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 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 St. Louis, MO-IL, area covered in this release includes Bond, Calhoun, Clinton, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison, Monroe, and St. Clair counties in Illinois; and Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, St. Charles, St. Louis, and Warren counties and St. Louis City in Missouri.

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,
St. Louis, MO-IL (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from -
	Apr. 2022	May 2022	Jun. 2022	Jun. 2021	Apr. 2022	May 2022
All items	262.296	-	268.513	8.4	2.4	-
All items (1967 = 100)	779.064	-	797.530
Food and beverages	303.404	-	309.732	12.2	2.1	-
Food	302.568	-	309.198	12.9	2.2	-
Food at home	272.716	280.541	282.687	13.7	3.7	0.8
Cereals and bakery products	229.443	-	242.156	11.6	5.5	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	291.817	-	297.989	7.1	2.1	-
Dairy and related products	171.165	-	184.807	17.2	8.0	-
Fruits and vegetables	411.926	-	416.860	7.9	1.2	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	203.633	-	207.092	17.0	1.7	-
Other food at home	280.476	-	293.723	20.1	4.7	-
Food away from home	353.093	-	352.868	11.8	-0.1	-
Alcoholic beverages	278.991	-	281.209	4.3	0.8	-
Housing	249.820	-	255.870	5.8	2.4	-
Shelter	294.975	294.176	294.896	4.6	0.0	0.2
Rent of primary residence	268.280	266.010	267.661	1.7	-0.2	0.6
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	308.731	307.624	307.995	4.7	-0.2	0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	308.731	307.624	307.995	4.7	-0.2	0.1
Fuels and utilities	241.318	-	286.197	11.8	18.6	-
Household energy	209.063	216.154	262.380	14.9	25.5	21.4
Energy services	210.395	217.736	265.246	14.9	26.1	21.8
Electricity	194.970	206.371	278.303	14.5	42.7	34.9
Utility (piped) gas service	200.061	200.318	204.696	22.0	2.3	2.2
Household furnishings and operations	134.244	-	135.157	5.7	0.7	-
Apparel	131.301	-	134.428	2.1	2.4	-
Transportation	241.737	-	258.339	18.6	6.9	-
Private transportation	246.732	-	264.145	19.2	7.1	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	119.282	-	122.293	9.9	2.5	-
New vehicles(1)	247.211	-	251.786	10.6	1.9	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	445.947	-	457.539	6.7	2.6	-
Motor fuel	369.890	406.340	453.380	67.9	22.6	11.6
Gasoline (all types)	362.785	398.812	445.608	67.8	22.8	11.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	350.091	385.355	430.740	68.5	23.0	11.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	424.645	462.882	516.956	64.2	21.7	11.7
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	361.227	391.327	435.168	60.4	20.5	11.2
Medical care	499.354	-	496.301	3.8	-0.6	-
Recreation(3)	129.561	-	126.519	5.0	-2.3	-
Education and communication(3)	150.627	-	150.691	2.0	0.0	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,299.629	-	1,306.803	2.8	0.6	-
Other goods and services	355.361	-	357.199	6.8	0.5	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	222.250	-	229.931	13.4	3.5	-
Commodities less food and beverages	181.438	-	189.139	14.1	4.2	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	247.669	-	265.524	22.0	7.2	-
Durables	121.471	-	122.641	6.1	1.0	-
Services	304.582	-	309.480	5.1	1.6	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	253.164	-	261.547	9.8	3.3	-
All items less medical care	250.425	-	257.199	8.9	2.7	-
Commodities less food	185.710	-	193.325	13.7	4.1	-
Nondurables	276.147	-	288.659	16.8	4.5	-
Nondurables less food	251.232	-	268.112	20.4	6.7	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	321.790	-	331.768	5.1	3.1	-
Services less medical care services	285.936	-	291.474	5.3	1.9	-
Energy	279.878	299.333	346.735	39.6	23.9	15.8
All items less energy	264.731	-	266.165	5.9	0.5	-
All items less food and energy	258.657	-	259.299	4.8	0.2	-
(1) Indexes on an March 1978=100 base. (2) Indexes on a November 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Index on a December 1993=100.
- Data not available.