The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City advanced 0.5 percent from June to August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Sheila Watkins noted that the recent advance was led by an increase in the all items less food and energy index (0.4 percent). The food index and energy index also increased, up 0.8 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively. (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 1.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The over-the-year rise was due mostly to increases in the all items less food and energy index (1.1 percent) and the energy index (7.1 percent). Prices for food also rose since August 2016, up 0.5 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Following a 1.1-percent decline from April to June, the food index increased 0.8 percent over the last two months. Prices for food at home advanced 0.8 percent, and those for food away from home rose 0.7 percent since June. Within the food at home component, higher prices for various items including chicken and uncooked beef steaks were moderated by lower prices for frozen and freeze dried prepared foods, among others.

Over the year, the food index increased 0.5 percent. Higher prices for food away from home (1.8 percent) were slightly offset by lower prices for food at home (-0.4 percent).

Energy

The energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, rose 0.7 percent since June. This was due largely to higher prices for gasoline, up 2.8 percent over the last two months. Prices for utility (piped) gas service also increased since June, up 0.4 percent, while those for electricity decreased, down 0.9 percent.

Over the year, the energy index rose 7.1 percent, led by an 18.1-percent advance in gasoline prices. Prices were also higher for utility (piped) gas service (7.2 percent), while those for electricity declined 3.2 percent over the year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.4 percent from June to August. Higher prices for shelter (0.8 percent), along with those for apparel (2.9 percent), were moderated by lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-0.7 percent), among others, since June.

Since August 2016, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.1 percent. This was largely due to higher prices for shelter (2.3 percent). Lower prices for various items including education and communication (-3.2 percent), moderated the 12-month increase in the all items less food and energy index.

Table A. Philadelphia CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2013		2014		2015		2016		2017
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	0.7	1.8	0.5	1.0	-0.2	-0.1	0.3	0.3	0.7	2.1
April	0.1	1.1	0.5	1.4	0.5	0.0	0.9	0.6	0.0	1.3
June	0.3	1.5	0.6	1.8	0.8	0.2	0.3	0.1	-0.3	0.7
August	0.5	1.1	0.0	1.3	-0.5	-0.3	-0.2	0.3	0.5	1.4
October	-0.4	0.3	-0.1	1.6	-0.3	-0.5	0.6	1.3
December	0.1	1.2	-0.8	0.6	-0.6	-0.2	-0.1	1.7

The Consumer Price Index for October 2017 is scheduled to be released Wednesday, November 15, 2017 at 8:30 am (ET).

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index for Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City is published bi-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 89 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 28 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/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 Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md., Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania; Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem Counties in New Jersey; New Castle County in Delaware; and Cecil County in Maryland.

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, Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md., (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from
	Historical data	Jun. 2017	Jul. 2017	Aug. 2017	Aug. 2016	Jun. 2017	Jul. 2017
All items		247.713		248.919	1.4	0.5
All items (1967 = 100)		715.628		719.113
Food and beverages		231.821		233.252	0.5	0.6
Food		231.272		233.030	0.5	0.8
Food at home		236.426	238.970	238.332	-0.4	0.8	-0.3
Food away from home		218.821		220.341	1.8	0.7
Alcoholic beverages		235.301		232.882	0.5	-1.0
Housing		255.246		256.472	1.9	0.5
Shelter		317.446	318.637	319.906	2.3	0.8	0.4
Rent of primary residence(1)		295.434	296.425	297.212	2.0	0.6	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)(2)(3)		326.190	326.802	327.425	1.8	0.4	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)(2)(3)		326.190	326.802	327.425	1.8	0.4	0.2
Fuels and utilities		202.895		201.570	0.4	-0.7
Household energy		168.346	168.041	167.072	0.2	-0.8	-0.6
Gas (piped) and electricity(1)		180.876	181.103	179.972	-0.1	-0.5	-0.6
Electricity(1)		187.794	187.818	186.099	-3.2	-0.9	-0.9
Utility (piped) gas service(1)		157.737	158.327	158.351	7.2	0.4	0.0
Household furnishings and operations		113.550		112.779	0.0	-0.7
Apparel		110.298		113.485	3.5	2.9
Transportation		206.744		207.656	4.5	0.4
Private transportation		205.059		206.742	5.0	0.8
Motor fuel		218.369	214.811	224.479	18.1	2.8	4.5
Gasoline (all types)		215.345	211.825	221.331	18.1	2.8	4.5
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		211.757	208.143	217.835	18.5	2.9	4.7
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		223.721	221.589	229.966	17.1	2.8	3.8
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		222.572	219.225	227.265	16.1	2.1	3.7
Medical care		509.792		510.778	-0.4	0.2
Recreation(6)		122.888		122.740	0.9	-0.1
Education and communication(6)		128.915		129.279	-3.2	0.3
Other goods and services		529.328		530.322	1.4	0.2
Commodity and service group
Commodities		175.706		176.647	1.3	0.5
Commodities less food and beverages		144.691		145.393	1.8	0.5
Nondurables less food and beverages		183.649		185.443	4.2	1.0
Durables		101.871		101.594	-1.7	-0.3
Services		320.743		322.227	1.5	0.5
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		224.946		225.697	1.0	0.3
All items less medical care		236.687		237.907	1.6	0.5
Commodities less food		147.888		148.499	1.8	0.4
Nondurables		208.832		210.490	2.3	0.8
Nondurables less food		186.671		188.208	3.9	0.8
Services less rent of shelter(2)		331.290		331.696	0.7	0.1
Services less medical care services		306.328		307.968	1.7	0.5
Energy		186.426	184.974	187.750	7.1	0.7	1.5
All items less energy		256.344		257.547	1.0	0.5
All items less food and energy		263.217		264.341	1.1	0.4
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) This index series underwent a change in composition in January 2010. The expenditure class now includes weight from secondary residences, and has been re-titled "Owners' equivalent rent of residences." The item stratum "Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence" excludes secondary residences. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (6) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.