The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City area inched up 0.1 percent from February to April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that the recent increase was attributable to higher prices in the all items less food and energy group, up 0.4 percent. Prices for energy fell 2.1 percent over the last two months; prices for food were also lower, down 0.2 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, two-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 1.1 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The rise was due largely to a 2.0-percent advance in the all items less food and energy index since April 2012. The food index also increased, up 1.9 percent, while the energy index declined 6.2 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices edged down 0.2 percent from February to April, due to a 0.5-percent decline in prices for food at home. Lower prices for lettuce led the various decreases within the food away from home component, moderated by higher prices for items such as uncooked ground beef. Prices for food away from home edged up 0.2 percent since February.

Over the year, the food index advanced 1.9 percent. Both components of the food index had price increases since April 2012—prices for food at home rose 1.6 percent and those for food away from home, 2.3 percent.

Energy

The energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, fell 2.1 percent over the last two months. The recent decline primarily reflected lower prices for gasoline, down 6.1 percent from February to April. Lower prices for fuel oil also contributed to the two-month decline in the energy index. Moderating the recent decrease in the energy index were advances of 3.8 percent in electricity prices and 2.2 percent in utility (piped) gas service prices since February.

The energy index fell 6.2 percent since last April. The over-the-year decline was due largely to lower prices for gasoline, which dropped 11.2 percent—the largest 12-month decrease since October 2009. Prices for fuel oil also declined, as did those for electricity, down 0.6 percent over the last 12 months. However, prices rose for the utility (piped) gas service component, up 1.9 percent since April 2012.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.4 percent from February to April. A 5.3-percent advance in the apparel index led the increase in the all items less food and energy group. Many other components also contributed to the two-month rise, most notably the shelter index, which inched up 0.1 percent due to higher prices for lodging away from home.

Over the last 12 months, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.0 percent. Price increases were widespread among the components of the all items less food and energy index since last April, led by education and communication, up 4.8 percent, and shelter, up 1.0 percent.

The June 2013 Consumer Price Index for Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City is scheduled to be released July 16, 2013, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

 

Table A. Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index (not seasonally adjusted)

Month	2008		2009		2010		2011		2012		2013
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	0.9	3.7	1.0	-0.3	0.8	2.8	1.3	1.9	0.7	2.2	0.7	1.8
April	1.2	3.9	0.6	-0.9	0.4	2.6	1.0	2.5	0.8	2.0	0.1	1.1
June	2.1	5.1	1.0	-2.0	0.3	1.9	0.6	2.8	-0.2	1.3
August	0.0	4.4	1.0	-1.0	0.2	1.1	0.7	3.4	0.9	1.4
October	-1.4	2.8	-0.6	-0.1	0.0	1.7	-0.3	3.0	0.4	2.2
December	-3.1	-0.4	0.0	3.0	-0.2	1.4	-0.5	2.8	-0.9	1.8

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 88 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 87 urban areas across the country from about 4,000 housing units and approximately 26,000 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/homch17_a.htm.

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-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.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service:  1-800-877-8339.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods, Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Feb. 2013	Mar. 2013	Apr. 2013	Apr. 2012	Feb. 2013	Mar. 2013
All items	240.137	-	240.345	1.1	0.1	-
Food and beverages	223.422	-	223.235	1.9	-0.1	-
Food	223.148	-	222.691	1.9	-0.2	-
Food at home	235.204	235.237	234.134	1.6	-0.5	-0.5
Food away from home	201.588	-	201.946	2.3	0.2	-
Alcoholic beverages	224.404	-	228.131	3.3	1.7	-
Housing	241.940	-	242.732	0.6	0.3	-
Shelter	292.020	293.172	292.389	1.0	0.1	-0.3
Rent of primary residence (1)	272.691	273.643	272.576	1.9	0.0	-0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of residences (1) (2)	300.876	301.879	300.769	0.6	0.0	-0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence (1) (2)	300.876	301.879	300.769	0.6	0.0	-0.4
Fuels and utilities	213.849	-	217.892	-0.3	1.9	-
Household energy	185.607	186.584	189.086	-1.1	1.9	1.3
Energy services (1)	189.376	191.208	195.636	0.1	3.3	2.3
Electricity (1)	192.259	192.488	199.528	-0.6	3.8	3.7
Utility (piped) gas service (1)	176.793	182.063	180.647	1.9	2.2	-0.8
Household furnishings and operations	121.684	-	121.132	-1.9	-0.5	-
Apparel	108.964	-	114.735	2.3	5.3	-
Transportation	224.144	-	220.500	-1.2	-1.6	-
Private transportation	222.620	-	217.998	-1.5	-2.1	-
Motor fuel	324.553	318.305	304.828	-11.1	-6.1	-4.2
Gasoline (all types)	320.216	313.931	300.607	-11.2	-6.1	-4.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular (3)	320.502	314.074	300.400	-11.6	-6.3	-4.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (3) (4)	312.579	306.979	295.041	-10.0	-5.6	-3.9
Gasoline, unleaded premium (3)	302.052	296.697	285.844	-9.1	-5.4	-3.7
Medical care	455.573	-	457.497	2.6	0.4	-
Recreation (5)	123.694	-	123.631	-0.4	-0.1	-
Education and communication (5)	130.315	-	129.958	4.8	-0.3	-
Other goods and services	461.944	-	464.369	4.8	0.5	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	184.386	-	183.508	-1.2	-0.5	-
Commodities less food and beverages	160.938	-	159.801	-2.9	-0.7	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	204.364	-	201.886	-3.2	-1.2	-
Durables	111.835	-	112.354	-2.2	0.5	-
Services	298.378	-	299.513	2.3	0.4	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	230.994	-	231.142	1.0	0.1	-
All items less shelter	224.487	-	224.631	1.1	0.1	-
Commodities less food	163.357	-	162.345	-2.7	-0.6	-
Nondurables	216.199	-	214.693	-0.9	-0.7	-
Nondurables less food	205.625	-	203.438	-2.9	-1.1	-
Services less rent of shelter (2)	312.376	-	314.484	3.9	0.7	-
Services less medical care services	285.830	-	286.884	2.3	0.4	-
Energy	236.782	235.094	231.701	-6.2	-2.1	-1.4
All items less energy	242.262	-	243.095	2.0	0.3	-
All items less food and energy	248.049	-	249.109	2.0	0.4	-
Footnotes (1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (2) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (5) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. - Data not available. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.