Philadelphia Area Retail Food, Energy, and Shelter Price Indexes: March 2008 (PDF)

Prices for food at home, energy, and shelter in the Philadelphia area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), all rose in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that energy prices were 13.9 percent higher than a year ago, well above the 12-month advances in food at home (4.0 percent) and shelter (3.0 percent) prices.  (See table 1.)

After falling 0.8 percent in February, the food at home index edged up 0.2 percent in March.  The recent advance was led by higher prices for a variety of items including fish and seafood and apples.

The Philadelphia area food at home index was 212.691 on the 1982-84 base, which means that grocery shoppers in the Philadelphia area would have had to spend $21.27 last month for a market basket of food items that cost $10.00 in 1982-84.

Energy prices rose 3.4 percent since February, following a 0.7-percent decline in the previous month.  The March increase in the energy index was due largely to higher gasoline prices, which rose 5.1 percent in March after falling 2.4 percent in February.  Over the year, gasoline prices were up 22.4 percent.  Higher prices for fuel oil and utility (piped) gas service also contributed to the overall advance in the energy index, while lower electricity prices helped to moderate the overall advance. The utility gas service index rose 3.5 percent over the month—the largest one-month increase in this index since January 2006—and was 1.5 percent higher than its year-ago level.  The electricity index edged down 0.2 percent since February but was 2.9 percent higher than last year.

The Philadelphia area energy index stood at 224.429 on the 1982-84 base, which means that energy users in the Philadelphia area would have had to spend $22.44 last month for a group of energy items that cost $10.00 in 1982-84.

Shelter prices advanced 0.9 percent in March, due mainly to higher prices for other lodging away from home, including hotels and motels.  Also contributing to the one-month advance in the shelter index were higher prices for owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence (up 0.4 percent) and rent of primary residence (up 0.2 percent).  These two published components had over-the-year increases of 2.6 and 3.3 percent, respectively.

The Philadelphia area shelter index stood at 274.900 on the 1982-84 base, which means that local residents would have had to spend $27.49 last month for various types of shelter that cost $10.00 in 1982-84.

The Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, Pa.-N.J.- Del.-Md., Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) 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.

Last Modified Date: April 16, 2008