Internet Address: http://www.bls.gov/ro2/home.htm   For release:
Media Contact: Michael L. Dolfman,(212) 337-2500    Thursday, April 17, 2008
Information: Martin Kohli,(646) 264-3620

          Consumer Prices in the Northeast: March 2008
                                
     Retail prices in the Northeast region, as measured by the
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), rose 0.8
percent in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S.
Department of Labor reported today.  Michael L. Dolfman, the
Bureau's regional commissioner, noted that while increases in the
housing and transportation indexes led the way, seven of the
eight major categories that comprise the CPI-U had higher prices
in March; the medical care index was unchanged since February.
(See chart A.)  The March level of 226.926 (1982-84=100) was 3.9
percent higher than a year ago.  Over the same period, the core
inflation rate, as measured by the all items less food and energy
index, rose 2.4 percent.  (See table 1.)



     The housing index rose 0.8 percent in March, due largely to
a 0.7-percent increase in shelter prices.  The shelter index,
which includes rent of primary residence, lodging away from home,
owners' equivalent rent of primary residence, and tenants' and
household insurance, rose 3.0 percent over the year.  Fuels and
utilities prices increased 1.2 percent over the month, due in
part to higher utility (piped) gas service prices, which were up
1.4 percent in March and 2.8 percent over the year.  Electricity
prices fell 1.6 percent over the month but were 1.3 percent
higher than last year.  Over the last 12 months, the fuels and
utilities index advanced 9.4 percent.  Prices for household
furnishings and operations, the third component of the housing
index, rose 0.5 percent over the month.  Due to declines in 9 of
the last 12 months, the household furnishings and operations
index was down 1.9 percent over the year.  The overall housing
index advanced 3.3 percent from its year-ago level.

     Following a 0.4-percent decline in February, the
transportation index rose 1.6 percent in March, due largely to
higher gasoline prices.  After decreasing 1.5 percent in
February, gasoline prices advanced 4.3 percent in March.  Over
the year, gasoline prices were 24.6 percent higher.  Moderating
the recent advance in the transportation index were lower prices
for new vehicles, down 0.3 percent over the month and 1.0 percent
over the year.  The overall transportation index advanced 7.5
percent since March 2007.

     Apparel prices rose 2.2 percent in March.  The one-month
seasonal increase in the apparel index was lower than the 4.0-
percent average increase in March for the last five years.
Despite the recent advance, apparel prices were 1.5 percent lower
over the year.

     Food and beverages prices rose for the 16th consecutive
month, up 6.5 percent since November 2006 and 0.3 percent since
last month.  In March, food away from home prices edged up 0.3
percent over the month and food at home prices, 0.2 percent.
Over the year, the food away from home and food at home indexes
were 4.5 and 4.6 percent higher, respectively.  Also contributing
to the overall rise in the food and beverages index were higher
prices for alcoholic beverages, up 0.4 percent over the month.
Since March 2007, alcoholic beverages prices rose 4.1 percent.
The overall food and beverages index advanced 4.5 percent from
its year-ago level.

     The other goods and services index rose 0.8 percent since
February-the largest one-month increase since January 2004.  Over
the year, the other goods and services index (which includes
tobacco and smoking products, personal care products and
services, and miscellaneous personal services such as legal,
funeral, and laundry and dry cleaning services) was 2.8 percent
higher.

     Recreation prices edged up 0.2 percent since February and
were 1.5 percent higher than in last March.

     The education and communication index was nearly unchanged
in March, inching up 0.1 percent, and was 4.4 percent higher over
the year.

     After eight consecutive months of increases totaling 3.5
percent, there was no change in the medical care index in March.
Higher prices for medical care commodities (up 0.3 percent) were
offset by lower prices for medical care services (down 0.1
percent).  These two components of the medical care index had
over-the-year increases of 2.2 and 4.1 percent, respectively.
The overall medical care index increased 3.8 percent over the
last 12 months.

     The energy index, which reflects prices for gasoline and
household fuels, rose 2.9 percent in March, due in large part to
a 4.3-percent increase in gasoline prices.  Also contributing to
the increase in the overall energy index were higher utility
(piped) gas service prices.  Over the year, the energy index was
16.4 percent higher.

     The Northeast region is comprised of Connecticut, Maine,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island, and Vermont.

NYLS - 7329                                      Labor - New York
04/16/08

     The relative importance of a component of the CPI is its
expenditure or value weight expressed as a percentage of all
items within an area.  Relative importance ratios show
approximately how the index population distributes expenditures
when the value weights are collected and represent an estimate of
how consumers would distribute their expenditures as prices
change over time.  Relative importance ratios cannot be used as
estimates of current spending patterns or as indicators of
changing consumer expenditures in the intervals between weight
revisions because consumption patterns are influenced by
factors--including income, variations in climate, family size,
and  availability of new and different kinds of goods and
services--other than price change. (See table A.)

Table A (2005-2006 Weights). Relative importance of components
 in the Consumer Price Index, Northeast Region, December 2007
------------------------------------------------------------
                   Item and group                     CPI-U
------------------------------------------------------------
                Expenditure category
All items                                            100.000
 Food and beverages                                   15.009
  Food                                                13.961
   Food at home                                        7.703
   Food away from home                                 6.258
  Alcoholic beverages                                  1.048
 Housing                                              44.377
  Shelter                                             34.775
   Rent of primary residence                           6.527
   Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence       24.696
  Fuels and utilities                                  5.691
    Household energy                                   5.043
     Gas (piped) and electricity                       3.983
      Electricity                                      2.617
      Utility (piped) gas service                      1.366
  Household furnishings and operations                 3.911
 Apparel                                               3.697
 Transportation                                       16.030
  Private transportation                              14.685
   New and used motor vehicles                         6.306
    New vehicles                                       4.093
    Used cars and trucks                               1.315
   Motor fuel                                          4.643
    Gasoline (all types)                               4.472
 Medical care                                          5.780
  Medical care commodities                             1.469
  Medical care services                                4.311
   Professional services                               2.512
 Recreation                                            5.387
 Education and communication                           6.455
 Other goods and services                              3.265

             Commodity and service group
 Commodities                                          38.761
 Commodities less food and beverages                  23.752
  Nondurables less food and beverages                 14.799
  Durables                                             8.954
 Services                                             61.239

              Special aggregate indexes
 All items less medical care                          94.220
 All items less shelter                               65.225
 Commodities less food                                24.800
 Nondurables                                          29.807
 Nondurables less food                                15.846
 Services less rent of shelter                        26.745
 Services less medical care services                  56.928
 Energy                                                9.686
 All items less energy                                90.314
  All items less food and energy                      76.353
------------------------------------------------------------

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods
                                Northeast (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
                                                                                                           
                                                             Indexes                Percent change from-   
                 Item and Group                                                                            
                                                   Jan.       Feb.       Mar.      Mar.     Jan.     Feb.  
                                                   2008       2008       2008      2007     2008     2008  
                                                                                                           
              Expenditure category                                                                         
                                                                                                           
  All items....................................   224.325    225.213    226.926      3.9      1.2      0.8 
  All items (December 1977=100) ...............   353.243    354.642    357.340        -        -        - 
                                                                                                           
   Food and beverages..........................   213.162    213.620    214.191      4.5       .5       .3 
    Food.......................................   212.793    213.155    213.696      4.5       .4       .3 
     Food at home..............................   212.737    212.638    213.097      4.6       .2       .2 
     Food away from home.......................   215.822    216.767    217.421      4.5       .7       .3 
    Alcoholic beverages........................   216.931    218.703    219.676      4.1      1.3       .4 
                                                                                                           
   Housing.....................................   237.516    238.702    240.539      3.3      1.3       .8 
    Shelter....................................   281.256    282.815    284.851      3.0      1.3       .7 
     Rent of primary residence 1/..............   269.763    270.372    271.065      3.8       .5       .3 
     Owners' equivalent rent of primary                                                                    
         residence 1/ 2/ ......................   291.630    291.716    292.175      2.0       .2       .2 
    Fuels and utilities........................   218.034    218.616    221.307      9.4      1.5      1.2 
     Household energy..........................   205.824    206.252    209.100      9.8      1.6      1.4 
      Gas (piped) and electricity 1/...........   201.524    201.798    200.570      1.8      -.5      -.6 
       Electricity 1/..........................   182.656    182.637    179.678      1.3     -1.6     -1.6 
       Utility (piped) gas service 1/..........   234.884    235.881    239.133      2.8      1.8      1.4 
    Household furnishings and operations.......   127.055    127.502    128.181     -1.9       .9       .5 
                                                                                                           
   Apparel.....................................   112.382    116.215    118.790     -1.5      5.7      2.2 
                                                                                                           
   Transportation..............................   189.789    189.056    192.047      7.5      1.2      1.6 
    Private transportation.....................   184.422    183.318    186.069      7.6       .9      1.5 
     New and used motor vehicles 3/............    93.324     92.827     92.885       .4      -.5       .1 
      New vehicles.............................   135.613    134.954    134.602     -1.0      -.7      -.3 
       New cars and trucks 3/ 4/...............    94.021     93.568     93.321     -1.1      -.7      -.3 
       New cars 4/.............................   134.223    133.344    132.837     -1.7     -1.0      -.4 
      Used cars and trucks.....................   142.209    142.306    142.274      2.1       .0       .0 
     Motor fuel................................   257.858    254.137    265.904     25.1      3.1      4.6 
      Gasoline (all types).....................   256.466    252.548    263.378     24.6      2.7      4.3 
       Gasoline, unleaded regular 4/...........   258.455    254.336    265.680     24.8      2.8      4.5 
       Gasoline, unleaded midgrade 4/ 5/.......   260.192    256.703    266.742     24.3      2.5      3.9 
       Gasoline, unleaded premium 4/...........   246.580    243.207    252.473     23.6      2.4      3.8 
                                                                                                           
   Medical care................................   383.442    385.250    385.349      3.8       .5       .0 
    Medical care commodities...................   314.948    317.256    318.098      2.2      1.0       .3 
    Medical care services......................   401.628    403.164    402.936      4.1       .3      -.1 
     Professional services.....................   312.779    314.218    314.576      2.5       .6       .1 
                                                                                                           
   Recreation 3/...............................   113.558    114.366    114.580      1.5      0.9      0.2 
                                                                                                           
   Education and communication 3/..............   124.654    124.753    124.892      4.4       .2       .1 
                                                                                                           
   Other goods and services....................   357.643    358.666    361.501      2.8      1.1       .8 
                                                                                                           
                                                                  Commodity and service group             
                                                                                                           
  All items....................................   224.325    225.213    226.926      3.9      1.2       .8 
   Commodities.................................   175.130    175.646    177.728      5.1      1.5      1.2 
    Commodities less food and beverages........   151.777    152.301    154.996      5.4      2.1      1.8 
     Nondurables less food and beverages.......   187.884    188.925    194.144      9.8      3.3      2.8 
      Nondurables less food, beverages, and                                                                
          apparel..............................   246.628    245.706    252.946     14.5      2.6      2.9 
     Durables..................................   110.073    110.073    110.201     -1.4       .1       .1 
   Services....................................   272.502    273.755    275.104      3.2      1.0       .5 
    Rent of shelter 2/ ........................   294.182    295.824    297.971      3.0      1.3       .7 
    Transportation services....................   225.915    226.783    228.785      3.5      1.3       .9 
    Other services.............................   309.592    310.780    311.571      4.1       .6       .3 
                                                                                                           
                                                                   Special aggregate indexes               
                                                                                                           
  All items less medical care..................   217.145    217.995    219.752      3.9      1.2       .8 
  All items less food..........................   226.632    227.612    229.532      3.8      1.3       .8 
  All items less shelter.......................   205.167    205.806    207.416      4.5      1.1       .8 
  Commodities less food........................   154.352    154.916    157.570      5.4      2.1      1.7 
  Nondurables..................................   201.216    201.985    205.022      7.1      1.9      1.5 
  Nondurables less food........................   189.460    190.542    195.512      9.4      3.2      2.6 
  Nondurables less food and apparel............   241.695    241.038    247.617     13.3      2.5      2.7 
  Services less rent of shelter 2/.............   272.272    273.180    273.704      3.5       .5       .2 
  Services less medical care services..........   263.175    264.401    265.814      3.2      1.0       .5 
  Energy.......................................   227.569    226.252    232.850     16.4      2.3      2.9 
  All items less energy........................   226.046    227.180    228.382      2.7      1.0       .5 
   All items less food and energy..............   229.897    231.191    232.532      2.4      1.1       .6 
    Commodities less food and energy                                                                       
        commodities............................   140.701    141.832    142.696      -.4      1.4       .6 
    Energy commodities.........................   269.672    266.757    281.220     28.6      4.3      5.4 
    Services less energy services..............   279.573    280.924    282.525      3.3      1.1       .6 

  1/ This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator.  All other item stratum index series
     were calculated using a geometric means estimator.
  2/ Index is 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.
  -  Data not available.

Last Modified Date: April 18, 2008