Washington-Baltimore Consumer Price Index: AUGUST 2009 (PDF)

Prices for food at home, shelter, and energy all rose in the Washington-Baltimore area in August, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that despite the one-month increases in all three indexes, only shelter prices were higher than their year-ago levels; the shelter index rose 2.1 percent since August 2008, while prices for energy and food at home were 18.8 and 0.5 percent lower, respectively.  (See table 1.)

Food at home prices inched up 0.1 percent in August following a 0.8-percent advance in July.  Higher prices for citrus fruits, processed fish and seafood, and fats and oils, among others, were nearly offset by lower prices for a number of items including other fresh vegetables, other miscellaneous foods, and chicken.

The Washington-Baltimore area food at home index stood at 135.750 on the December 1997=100 base, which means that grocery shoppers in the Washington-Baltimore area would have spent $13.58 last month for a market basket of food items that cost $10.00 in December 1997.

Shelter prices rose 0.3 percent since July due to identical increases in both its published components—owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence and rent of primary residence index (0.4 percent each). These two components had over-the-year increases of 3.3 and 4.0 percent, respectively.

The Washington-Baltimore area shelter index stood at 158.219 on the December 1997=100 base, which means that area residents would have spent $15.82 on various types of shelter that cost $10.00 in December 1997.

Since July, energy prices inched up 0.1 percent as higher gasoline and fuel oil prices were nearly offset by lower electricity and utility (piped) gas service prices.  Gasoline prices advanced for the eighth consecutive month, up 47.0 percent since December and 0.8 since July.  Despite the recent increases, gasoline prices were 31.5 percent below year-ago levels.  Prices for electricity and utility gas were lower over the month, down 0.3 and 1.1 percent, respectively.  Over the year, electricity prices rose 5.3 percent, while utility gas prices dropped 32.8 percent.

The Washington-Baltimore energy index stood at 200.711 on the November 1996=100 base, which means that area energy users would have spent $20.07 for a group of energy items that cost $10.00 in November 1996.

The Washington-Baltimore, D.C.-Md.-Va.-W.Va., Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) includes the District of Columbia; Baltimore City and the counties of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Carroll, Charles, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Queen Anne’s, and Washington in Maryland; the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park and the counties of Arlington, Clarke, Fairfax, Fauquier, King George, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren in Virginia; and the counties of Berkeley and Jefferson in West Virginia.