Prices in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 1.4 percent for the two months ending in May 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that the food index increased 0.4 percent, and the energy index rose 1.6 percent from March to May. The all items less food and energy index rose 1.6 percent over the past two months. Among the indexes within the all items less food and energy category, prices were higher for new and used motor vehicles and 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 advanced 4.6 percent. (See table A.)  The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.6 percent over the year. Energy prices increased 28.3 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. Food prices rose 2.3 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 0.4 percent for the two months ending in May.  Prices for food at home (groceries) declined 0.2 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) rose 1.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 2.3 percent. Prices for food at home rose 1.6 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home advanced 3.2 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 1.6 percent for the two months ending in May. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (1.9 percent). Prices for utility (piped) gas service increased 6.3 percent, while prices for electricity decreased 1.0 percent for the same period.

Energy prices increased 28.3 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (59.5 percent). Prices paid for utility (piped) gas service rose 13.3 percent, while prices for electricity decreased 3.3 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.6 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for new and used motor vehicles (8.6 percent); apparel (5.4 percent); and household furnishings and operations (2.5 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for medical care (-0.4 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.6 percent. Components contributing to the increase included new and used motor vehicles (11.0 percent); medical care (4.8 percent); and household furnishings and operations (6.4 percent).

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		2020		2021
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
January	0.3		0.4	1.4	0.6	3.0	0.4	1.6
March	0.5		1.4	2.3	-0.3	1.2	1.1	3.0
May	1.0		1.0	2.3	-0.1	0.0	1.4	4.6
July	0.3		0.3	2.2	-0.1	-0.3
September	0.3		-0.2	1.7	2.1	1.9
November	-1.2	1.3	-0.2	2.8	-0.4	1.7

The July 2021 Consumer Price Index for Minneapolis is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, August 11, 2021.

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 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-
	Mar. 2021	Apr. 2021	May 2021	May 2020	Mar. 2021	Apr. 2021
Expenditure category
All items	259.187	-	262.898	4.6	1.4	-
All items (1967=100)	814.501	-	826.163	-	-	-
Food and beverages	297.779	-	299.268	1.9	0.5	-
Food	287.023	-	288.238	2.3	0.4	-
Food at home	258.456	256.044	257.953	1.6	-0.2	0.7
Cereals and bakery products	265.669	-	274.424	4.2	3.3	-
Meats, poultry, fish and eggs	286.456	-	287.802	-0.1	0.5	-
Dairy and related products	283.091	-	288.089	0.7	1.8	-
Fruits and vegetables	350.254	-	352.687	2.9	0.7	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	165.684	-	161.654	3.5	-2.4	-
Other food at home	206.665	-	201.432	0.8	-2.5	-
Food away from home	327.411	-	331.620	3.2	1.3	-
Alcoholic beverages	386.516	-	391.668	-1.9	1.3	-
Housing	246.332	-	247.529	1.4	0.5	-
Shelter	292.167	294.435	292.467	0.4	0.1	-0.7
Rent of primary residence(2)	302.352	303.803	303.376	1.6	0.3	-0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	311.758	312.236	312.974	2.3	0.4	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)(3)	311.758	312.236	312.974	2.3	0.4	0.2
Fuels and utilities	215.688	-	217.461	2.8	0.8	-
Household energy	189.928	183.772	191.900	3.0	1.0	4.4
Energy services(2)	191.379	185.419	194.254	2.1	1.5	4.8
Electricity(2)	261.359	252.075	258.671	-3.3	-1.0	2.6
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	131.329	128.326	139.577	13.3	6.3	8.8
Household furnishings and operations	126.831	-	130.007	6.4	2.5	-
Apparel	133.734	-	140.966	9.9	5.4	-
Transportation	204.030	-	217.716	21.0	6.7	-
Private transportation	196.117	-	204.813	20.4	4.4	-
New and used motor vehicles(4)	94.798	-	102.956	11.0	8.6	-
New vehicles(1)	159.430	-	168.418	5.5	5.6	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	306.503	-	355.809	31.2	16.1	-
Motor fuel	224.591	224.415	229.095	58.0	2.0	2.1
Gasoline (all types)	225.659	225.181	230.010	59.5	1.9	2.1
Gasoline, unleaded regular(5)	226.649	225.895	230.625	60.4	1.8	2.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(5)(6)	226.838	221.341	228.714	46.9	0.8	3.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(5)	270.728	275.483	282.281	51.7	4.3	2.5
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	510.388	-	510.388	35.9	0.0	-
Medical care	604.866	-	602.262	4.8	-0.4	-
Recreation(4)	132.860	-	133.917	1.4	0.8	-
Education and communication(4)	139.020	-	139.475	1.6	0.3	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,131.870	-	1,131.870	3.9	0.0	-
Other goods and services	407.868	-	409.109	4.6	0.3	-
Commodity and service group
All items	259.187	-	262.898	4.6	1.4	-
Commodities	193.866	-	198.501	7.7	2.4	-
Commodities less food and beverages	148.658	-	153.907	11.4	3.5	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	197.894	-	201.863	15.3	2.0	-
Durables	106.616	-	112.439	6.9	5.5	-
Services	317.271	-	320.036	2.9	0.9	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	243.690	-	247.636	4.6	1.6	-
All items less shelter	246.120	-	251.293	6.9	2.1	-
Commodities less food	157.093	-	162.472	10.7	3.4	-
Nondurables	244.600	-	247.594	8.0	1.2	-
Nondurables less food	210.766	-	214.875	13.7	1.9	-
Services less rent of shelter(3)	359.208	-	365.386	5.7	1.7	-
Services less medical care services	291.265	-	294.284	2.4	1.0	-
Energy	210.896	207.822	214.235	28.3	1.6	3.1
All items less energy	268.231	-	272.047	3.5	1.4	-
All items less food and energy	265.555	-	269.746	3.6	1.6	-
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.