Prices in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), decreased by 0.4 percent for the 2 months ending in December 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that this decline was the first such decline since April 2020. The drop was led by a 4.6 percent decrease in the energy index as the fuel oil, gasoline, and utility (piped) gas indexes fell. The food index also declined whereas the all items less food and energy index reported no change. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The CPI-U advanced 6.4 percent, and the index for all items less food and energy rose 5.2 percent—each were the smallest 12-month percent changes since October 2021. (See chart 1 and table A.) The pace of increase for food prices also slowed as it was up 11.1 percent compared with 13.1 in October 2022, and the energy price index increase of 11.8 percent over the year was the lowest since February 2021 and considerably below the peak of 46.0 percent in June. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices declined 0.3 percent for the 2 months ending in December, led by a 1.2-percent decrease in prices for food at home. Within the food at home index, the 4.8-percent price decrease for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials marked the smallest 2-month decrease in that index since its inception. A 2.3-percent decline in prices for meats, poultry, fish and eggs was the first since August 2020, as rising prices for eggs were offset by other declines such as fresh chicken prices. Among the rest of the grocery categories, the other food at home index declined 0.4 percent and was well below August’s peak (6.7 percent). The cereals and bakery products index declined by 0.5 percent, the first drop of the year and well below June’s peak of 7.3 percent. Tempering the food index decline, prices for dairy and related products increased 0.2 percent after declining in October; and the fruits and vegetables index rose 0.1 percent, moderating since October’s 4.3 percent increase.

Over the year, food prices rose 11.1 percent — below October’s 13.1 percent increase. Prices for other food at home advanced 17.3 percent since a year ago, down from the 22.7-percent rise in October. All major grocery categories were up over the year, led by price increases for other food at home (17.3 percent) and cereals and bakery products (20.8 percent). Prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs were up 9.5 percent, the smallest index increase since August 2021. Dairy and related products prices rose 17.1 percent, recording the largest increase since the index started in 2018. Prices for food away from home were up 6.5 percent.

Energy

The energy index recorded its third consecutive bi-monthly decline, as prices fell 4.6 percent for the 2 months ending in December. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for fuel oil and continuing lower prices for gasoline (-6.6 percent). The utility (piped) gas index decreased 1.8 percent—the first time since June 2021 and the largest decline since June 2020. Mitigating declines in the other energy categories, the electricity index rose 5.1 percent, ending two straight declines.

Energy prices increased 11.8 percent over the year, the lowest bimonthly rise since February 2021 and well below June’s 46.0-percent peak. All major energy categories were up over the year; the electricity index increased 18.6 percent and the index for utility (piped) gas service was up 19.1 percent (the smallest increase since last year). The gasoline index increased 1.3 percent over the year, the lowest 1-year increase since the December 2013 rise of 0.8 percent and well below the 59.3-percent peak in June.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy reported no change in the latest 2-month period. Higher prices for shelter at 0.4 percent (the smallest increase since February 2021), and household furnishings (2.8 percent), were offset by lower indexes for public transportation, apparel (-3.6 percent), and new and used motor vehicles (-0.8 percent). Within the shelter index, the increase was led by owners’ equivalent rent of residences (1.1 percent), and rent of primary residence (1.4 percent), whereas lodging away from home prices were lower. A number of categories declined, led by apparel as well as new and used motor vehicles (predominantly used cars and trucks, down 4.8 percent). Medical care prices decreased 0.2 percent, the first decline since August 2021. Alcoholic beverages were up 1.8 percent after October’s 5.4 percent decline—the largest decline since the series began in 1976.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 5.2 percent, the smallest 12-month increase since October 2021. The recent increase was mainly driven by a 6.7-percent increase in the shelter index. Within shelter, the index for owners’ equivalent rent of residences advanced 6.2 percent and rent of primary residences rose 7.2 percent (the highest 12-month increase since 1987). The household furnishings and operations index advanced 7.7 percent. The medical care index was up 4.7 percent over the year, moderating since October’s high of 6.4 percent. The new and used motor vehicles index continued to moderate, up only 2.7 percent, well below the series high of 28.8 percent in February 2022. Within that index, used cars and trucks declined 8.3 percent, the largest decline since the index began in 2018.

Table A. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2018		2019		2020		2021		2022
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	0.4	0.5	0.8	1.5	1.0	2.6	0.8	1.0	1.5	7.3
April	0.9	1.4	1.3	1.9	-1.3	-0.1	1.2	3.5	2.2	8.4
June	0.2	1.9	0.5	2.1	0.6	0.1	1.9	4.9	2.3	8.8
August	0.3	1.7	0.5	2.3	0.8	0.4	0.6	4.6	0.0	8.1
October	0.0	1.6	-0.4	1.9	0.0	0.8	1.0	5.6	0.6	7.8
December	-0.7	1.0	-0.3	2.4	0.0	1.1	0.9	6.6	-0.4	6.4

The February 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington area is scheduled to be released on March 14, 2023.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index for Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington 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 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 5,000 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, Core Based Statistical Area includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania; Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem Counties in New Jersey; New Castle County in Delaware; and Cecil County in Maryland.

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Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from
	Historical data	Oct. 2022	Nov. 2022	Dec. 2022	Dec. 2021	Oct. 2022	Nov. 2022
All items		295.978		294.883	6.4	-0.4
All items (1967 = 100)		855.065		851.901
Food and beverages		287.944		287.440	10.9	-0.2
Food		290.526		289.545	11.1	-0.3
Food at home		299.016	297.452	295.471	14.2	-1.2	-0.7
Cereals and bakery products		406.353		404.342	20.8	-0.5
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		340.429		332.656	9.5	-2.3
Dairy and related products		233.041		233.555	17.1	0.2
Fruits and vegetables		301.199		301.357	11.4	0.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		196.714		187.292	9.8	-4.8
Other food at home		285.874		284.725	17.3	-0.4
Food away from home		270.383		273.189	6.5	1.0
Alcoholic beverages		250.626		255.210	8.7	1.8
Housing		308.836		309.717	8.0	0.3
Shelter		375.426	376.972	376.984	6.7	0.4	0.0
Rent of primary residence		350.260	353.227	354.992	7.2	1.4	0.5
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)		383.823	386.353	387.977	6.2	1.1	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)		383.823	386.353	387.977	6.2	1.1	0.4
Fuels and utilities		282.518		274.742	18.3	-2.8
Household energy		236.122	235.904	228.189	19.6	-3.4	-3.3
Energy services		230.924	230.959	236.662	18.8	2.5	2.5
Electricity		215.887	214.987	226.793	18.6	5.1	5.5
Utility (piped) gas service		246.455	248.276	241.967	19.1	-1.8	-2.5
Household furnishings and operations		137.373		141.207	7.7	2.8
Apparel		110.662		106.648	1.9	-3.6
Transportation		264.032		258.192	5.0	-2.2
Private transportation		270.915		266.740	4.4	-1.5
New and used motor vehicles(3)		132.684		131.652	2.7	-0.8
New vehicles(1)		233.374		234.789	7.6	0.6
Used cars and trucks(1)		371.763		353.884	-8.3	-4.8
Motor fuel		345.483	361.317	322.829	1.4	-6.6	-10.7
Gasoline (all types)		340.948	356.473	318.504	1.3	-6.6	-10.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		335.985	351.741	312.919	0.6	-6.9	-11.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		354.261	367.913	336.620	5.3	-5.0	-8.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		348.560	361.336	332.083	6.0	-4.7	-8.1
Medical care		601.113		599.889	4.7	-0.2
Recreation(3)		132.715		132.791	3.1	0.1
Education and communication(3)		135.368		135.062	-0.5	-0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,108.409		1,108.412	2.1	0.0
Other goods and services		619.874		617.124	1.5	-0.4
Commodity and service group
Commodities		221.868		218.012	6.4	-1.7
Commodities less food and beverages		185.049		180.099	3.8	-2.7
Nondurables less food and beverages		231.011		221.031	5.8	-4.3
Durables		132.791		131.704	1.6	-0.8
Services		370.752		372.182	6.4	0.4
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		269.976		267.827	6.2	-0.8
All items less medical care		283.067		281.978	6.5	-0.4
Commodities less food		187.867		183.206	4.0	-2.5
Nondurables		260.797		255.266	8.5	-2.1
Nondurables less food		232.176		223.264	6.1	-3.8
Services less rent of shelter(2)		373.623		374.916	6.0	0.3
Services less medical care services		353.201		355.001	6.8	0.5
Energy		277.635	282.550	264.770	11.8	-4.6	-6.3
All items less energy		301.327		301.284	6.0	0.0
All items less food and energy		306.184		306.294	5.2	0.0
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base (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.