The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington area rose 0.3 percent from May to July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that the food index declined 0.4 percent and the energy index was down 0.9 percent over the bi-monthly period. The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.4 percent from May to July. Among the indexes within the all items less food and energy category, prices were higher for shelter and recreation. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the past 12 months, the Minneapolis all items CPI-U increased 2.2 percent. (See table A.) The food index rose 1.0 percent while the energy index declined 5.9 percent from July 2018 to July 2019. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.1 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices decreased 0.4 percent from May to July. Of the two components within the food index, prices for food at home (groceries) fell 1.1 percent while prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 0.5 percent over the bi-monthly period.

Over the year, food prices in the Minneapolis area were up 1.0 percent. Prices for groceries declined 0.7 percent, while food away from home prices rose 2.9 percent from July 2018. 

Energy

The energy index for Minneapolis declined 0.9 percent from May to July. Prices for gasoline and utility (piped) gas service were down 3.9 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively. Electricity costs increased 9.1 percent over the bimonthly period.

From July 2018 to July 2019, overall energy prices declined 5.9 percent. Gasoline prices declined 5.0 percent and utility (piped) gas service costs fell 15.3 percent over the year. Electricity costs were down 2.1 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.4 percent from May to July. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for shelter (0.8 percent) and recreation (2.1 percent). The motor vehicle insurance index was down 7.3 percent, and apparel prices declined 2.8 percent.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.1 percent. Increases in the indexes for shelter (4.6 percent), medical care (3.9 percent), and apparel (13.6 percent) were contributing factors.

Table A. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2018		2019
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
January	0.3		0.4	1.4
March	0.5		1.4	2.3
May	1.0		1.0	2.3
July	0.3		0.3	2.2
September	0.3
November	-1.2	1.3

The September 2019 Consumer Price Index for Minneapolis is scheduled to be released on Thursday, October 10, 2019.

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 population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 29 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 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 (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 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI, Core Based Statistical Area covered in this release is comprised of Anoka, Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin, Isanti, LeSueur, Mille Lacs, Ramsey, Scott, Sherburne, Sibley, Washington, and Wright Counties in Minnesota; and Pierce and St. Croix Counties in Wisconsin.

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
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	May 2019	Jun. 2019	Jul. 2019	Jul. 2018	May 2019	Jun. 2019
Expenditure category
All items	251.171	-	251.802	2.2	0.3	-
All items (1967=100)	789.313	-	791.296	-	-	-
Food and beverages	284.495	-	283.988	1.2	-0.2	-
Food	273.601	-	272.632	1.0	-0.4	-
Food at home	248.120	245.144	245.440	-0.7	-1.1	0.1
Cereals and bakery products	278.936	-	272.668	-3.1	-2.2	-
Meats, poultry, fish and eggs	263.219	-	256.573	-3.6	-2.5	-
Dairy and related products	270.894	-	269.238	4.6	-0.6	-
Fruits and vegetables	345.086	-	343.764	-1.2	-0.4	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	159.576	-	153.027	1.8	-4.1	-
Other food at home	194.228	-	196.792	0.4	1.3	-
Food away from home	310.005	-	311.538	2.9	0.5	-
Alcoholic beverages	378.216	-	385.163	3.9	1.8	-
Housing	236.215	-	238.369	3.5	0.9	-
Shelter	279.731	281.732	282.055	4.6	0.8	0.1
Rent of primary residence(2)	283.835	285.927	287.013	4.9	1.1	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	292.055	292.616	293.835	4.2	0.6	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)(3)	292.055	292.616	293.835	4.2	0.6	0.4
Fuels and utilities	211.074	-	216.492	-5.1	2.6	-
Household energy	187.286	192.320	193.777	-7.0	3.5	0.8
Energy services(2)	190.977	197.483	198.766	-7.0	4.1	0.6
Electricity(2)	264.348	279.697	288.281	-2.1	9.1	3.1
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	128.381	127.440	122.598	-15.3	-4.5	-3.8
Household furnishings and operations	121.715	-	121.996	3.0	0.2	-
Apparel	141.678	-	137.724	13.6	-2.8	-
Transportation	206.247	-	203.571	-1.9	-1.3	-
Private transportation	190.931	-	188.561	-1.8	-1.2	-
New and used motor vehicles(4)	90.877	-	92.374	0.0	1.6	-
New vehicles(1)	155.406	-	157.888	-0.1	1.6	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	271.604	-	278.133	0.3	2.4	-
Motor fuel	228.023	219.340	219.107	-5.0	-3.9	-0.1
Gasoline (all types)	228.659	219.912	219.688	-5.0	-3.9	-0.1
Gasoline, unleaded regular(5)	229.099	220.478	220.064	-5.1	-3.9	-0.2
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(5)(6)	233.425	223.398	224.669	-6.2	-3.8	0.6
Gasoline, unleaded premium(5)	282.522	270.470	271.791	-3.6	-3.8	0.5
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	499.357	-	462.823	-7.4	-7.3	-
Medical care	560.402	-	560.621	3.9	0.0	-
Recreation(4)	130.425	-	133.156	2.4	2.1	-
Education and communication(4)	139.258	-	140.422	0.9	0.8	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,130.940	-	1,134.883	0.6	0.3	-
Other goods and services	374.613	-	372.035	-0.7	-0.7	-
Commodity and service group
All items	251.171	-	251.802	2.2	0.3	-
Commodities	190.243	-	189.322	1.1	-0.5	-
Commodities less food and beverages	148.167	-	147.193	1.1	-0.7	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	199.749	-	195.389	1.8	-2.2	-
Durables	104.667	-	105.980	0.4	1.3	-
Services	305.344	-	307.379	2.8	0.7	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	237.253	-	237.903	2.0	0.3	-
All items less shelter	240.023	-	239.917	1.0	0.0	-
Commodities less food	156.458	-	155.600	1.2	-0.5	-
Nondurables	240.051	-	237.239	1.5	-1.2	-
Nondurables less food	212.268	-	208.280	1.9	-1.9	-
Services less rent of shelter(3)	347.800	-	349.457	0.9	0.5	-
Services less medical care services	282.439	-	284.469	2.6	0.7	-
Energy	211.831	209.305	209.839	-5.9	-0.9	0.3
All items less energy	259.181	-	260.056	2.8	0.3	-
All items less food and energy	257.138	-	258.268	3.1	0.4	-
Footnotes (1) Index on an April 1978=100 base. (2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (3) Index on a December 1982=100 base. (4) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (5) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (6) Index on a December 1993=100 base.
- Data not available. Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.