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Energy commodities prices down 20.9 percent over the year ended in February 2016

March 21, 2016

Over the 12 months ended in February 2016, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 1.0 percent (not seasonally adjusted), a smaller increase than the 1.4-percent change for the 12 months ending January.

Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), 12-month percent change and relative importance, U.S. city average, by expenditure category, February 2016
Category Percent change, November 2014 to November 2015 Relative importance

All items

1.0 100.000

Food at home

-0.3 8.239

Food away from home

2.6 5.794

Energy commodities

-20.9 3.080

Energy services

-4.6 3.605

Household furnishings and supplies

-1.0 3.313

Apparel

0.9 3.073

Transportation commodities less motor fuel

0.5 6.346

Medical care commodities

2.2 1.816

Recreation commodities

-2.6 1.891

Education and communication commodities

-4.5 0.644

Alcoholic beverages

1.3 0.962

Other goods

0.9 1.564

Shelter

3.3 33.225

Water and sewer and trash collection services

3.6 1.160

Household operations

3.3 0.848

Medical care services

3.9 6.603

Transportation services

2.6 5.873

Recreation services

2.7 3.856

Education and communication services

1.8 6.494

Other personal services

2.8 1.614

Note: Relative importance data are for January 2016.

The food at home index declined 0.3 percent over the 12-month period ended in February 2016; the food at home index had a relative importance of 8.2 in the overall CPI-U, which means that food at home accounted for that percentage of consumer spending. Prices of pork products, especially pork chops and ham, decreased more than other meats. Prices of fruits and vegetables, notably tomatoes, increased over the period. The index for food away from home (relative importance, 5.8) increased 2.6 percent. As a whole, food prices increased 0.9 percent from February 2015 to February 2016.

Prices of energy commodities, which include gasoline, propane, and kerosene, decreased 20.9 percent; these commodities had a relative importance of 3.1. The energy services index, which includes electricity and piped gas service, declined 4.6 percent; energy services had a relative importance of 3.6. The overall energy index, made up of commodities and services, declined 12.5 percent.

The index for shelter, which accounted for 33.2 percent of consumer spending, increased 3.3 percent over the 12-month period ending in February 2016.

These data are from the BLS Consumer Price Index program and are not seasonally adjusted. To learn more, see “Consumer Price Index — February 2016” (HTML) (PDF). Relative importance data used in the February 2016 CPI-U are for the previous month.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Energy commodities prices down 20.9 percent over the year ended in February 2016 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2016/energy-commodities-prices-down-20-point-9-percent-over-the-year-ended-in-february-2016.htm (visited March 29, 2024).

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