Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until
 8:30 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, June 18, 2013   USDL-13-1175
 
 Technical information: (202) 691-7000 Reed.Steve@bls.gov www.bls.gov/cpi
 Media Contact:         (202) 691-5902 PressOffice@bls.gov
 
                    Consumer Price Index - May 2013

 The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased
 0.1 percent in May on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Bureau of
 Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all
 items index increased 1.4 percent before seasonal adjustment.
 
 The shelter index rose 0.3 percent and accounted for more than half
 of the seasonally adjusted all items increase in May. The energy
 index rose modestly, with the gasoline index flat but increases in
 the electricity and natural gas indexes accounting for the rise. The
 food index, however, turned down in May, with the food at home index
 falling 0.3 percent.
 
 The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.2 percent in
 May. Besides the shelter increase, advances in the indexes for
 airline fares, recreation, and apparel also contributed to the rise.
 In contrast, the indexes for medical care and used cars and trucks
 declined in May.
 
 The all items index increased 1.4 percent over the last 12 months, an
 increase from last month's 1.1 percent figure. The 12-month change in
 the index for all items less food and energy remained at 1.7 percent.
 The food index has risen modestly over the last 12 months, advancing
 1.4 percent, while the index for energy has declined, falling 1.0
 percent.


 Table A. Percent changes in CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): U.S. city
 average
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                  Seasonally adjusted changes from             
                                          preceding month                      
                                                                          Un-  
                                                                       adjusted
                              Nov.  Dec.  Jan.  Feb.  Mar.  Apr.  May   12-mos.
                              2012  2012  2013  2013  2013  2013  2013   ended 
                                                                       May 2013
                                                                                                                                                             
 All items..................   -.2    .0    .0    .7   -.2   -.4    .1      1.4
  Food......................    .2    .2    .0    .1    .0    .2   -.1      1.4
   Food at home.............    .3    .2    .0    .1   -.1    .1   -.3       .8
   Food away from home (1)..    .1    .1    .1    .1    .2    .3    .2      2.3
  Energy....................  -3.4   -.8  -1.7   5.4  -2.6  -4.3    .4     -1.0
   Energy commodities.......  -5.7  -1.5  -3.0   8.6  -4.1  -7.9   -.1     -4.2
    Gasoline (all types)....  -6.0  -1.9  -3.0   9.1  -4.4  -8.1    .0     -4.1
    Fuel oil (1)............   -.2    .0   -.2   3.1  -2.1  -4.4  -2.9     -5.8
   Energy services..........    .6    .3    .4    .5   -.2   1.4   1.2      4.5
    Electricity.............    .4    .2   1.1    .3   -.6    .5    .8      1.7
    Utility (piped) gas                                                        
       service..............   1.5    .7  -1.7   1.2   1.0   4.4   2.4     14.2
  All items less food and                                                      
     energy.................    .1    .1    .3    .2    .1    .1    .2      1.7
   Commodities less food and                                                   
      energy commodities....   -.1   -.1    .2    .0   -.1    .0    .0      -.2
    New vehicles............    .3    .2    .1   -.3    .1    .3    .0      1.1
    Used cars and trucks....   -.4   -.3    .2    .8   1.2    .6   -.1     -1.6
    Apparel.................   -.5    .1    .8   -.1  -1.0   -.3    .2       .2
    Medical care commodities   -.3   -.3    .1   -.4    .1    .1   -.5       .0
   Services less energy                                                        
      services..............    .2    .2    .3    .2    .2    .1    .2      2.3
    Shelter.................    .2    .1    .2    .2    .2    .2    .3      2.3
    Transportation services     .2    .4    .5    .1    .2   -.2    .4      2.6
    Medical care services...    .3    .3    .2    .3    .3   -.1    .0      2.9

   1 Not seasonally adjusted.













 Consumer Price Index Data for May 2013
 
 Food
 
 The food index fell 0.1 percent in May after rising 0.2 percent in
 April. The index for food at home fell 0.3 percent, its largest
 decline since July 2009. Four of the six major grocery store food
 group indexes posted declines, led by nonalcoholic beverages, which
 fell 1.1 percent. The index for dairy and related products decreased
 0.8 percent, its third decline in the last four months. The indexes
 for cereals and bakery products and other food at home both turned
 down in May, falling 0.4 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively. The
 index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs, which increased in April,
 was unchanged in May. The only grocery store food group index to rise
 was fruits and vegetables, which increased 0.4 percent in May after a
 1.4 percent decline in April. The food at home index has increased
 0.8 percent over the past year; the fruits and vegetables index has
 risen the most of the six groups over that span, increasing 2.1
 percent. The index for food away from home rose 0.2 percent in May
 and has risen 2.3 percent over the past year.
 
 
 Energy
 
 The energy index rose in May, increasing 0.4 percent after
 substantial declines in March and April. The gasoline index, which
 declined sharply the previous two months, was unchanged in May.
 (Before seasonal adjustment, gasoline prices rose 0.8 percent in
 May.) The fuel oil index continued to fall; its 2.9 percent decrease
 in May was its third consecutive decline. However, other energy
 indexes rose. The electricity index, which increased 0.5 percent in
 April, rose 0.8 percent in May. The natural gas index rose 2.4
 percent, its fourth consecutive increase. Over the last 12 months
 energy indexes are mixed, with the index for fuel oil falling 5.8
 percent and the gasoline index down 4.1 percent, but the natural gas
 index rising 14.2 percent and the electricity index up 1.7 percent.
 
 
 All items less food and energy
 
 The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.2 percent in
 May after rising 0.1 percent in both March and April. The shelter
 index rose 0.3 percent in May, its largest increase since July 2011.
 The  index for rent rose 0.3 percent and the index for owners'
 equivalent rent increased 0.2 percent. The index for lodging away
 from home rose 1.2 percent in May, its fifth consecutive increase.
 Besides shelter, several other indexes also increased in May. The
 index for airline fares rose 2.2 percent after declining in April.
 The indexes for apparel and recreation both rose 0.2 percent after
 declining in recent months. In contrast to these increases, the index
 for medical care declined in May, falling 0.1 percent. The index for
 medical care services was unchanged while the index for medical care
 commodities fell 0.5 percent, with the index for prescription drugs
 decreasing 0.6 percent. The index for used cars and trucks also
 declined, falling 0.1 percent after increasing in each of the first
 four months of the year. Several indexes were unchanged in May,
 including new vehicles, tobacco, and household furnishings and
 operations.
 
 The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.7 percent
 for the 12 months ending May. The index for shelter has risen 2.3
 percent over the last 12 months. The medical care index has risen 2.2
 percent, its smallest 12-month increase since September 1972. The
 index for medical care services has increased 2.9 percent over the
 last year, while the index for medical care commodities was
 unchanged, with the prescription drug index down 0.1 percent over the
 span.
 
 Not seasonally adjusted CPI measures
 
 The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased
 1.4 percent over the last 12 months to an index level of 232.945
 (1982-84=100). For the month, the index increased 0.2 percent prior
 to seasonal adjustment.
 
 The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers
 (CPI-W) increased 1.2 percent over the last 12 months to an index
 level of 229.399  (1982-84=100). For the month, the index increased
 0.2 percent prior to seasonal adjustment.
 
 The Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U)
 increased 1.3 percent over the last 12 months. For the month, the
 index increased 0.2 percent on a not seasonally adjusted basis.
 Please note that the indexes for the post-2011 period are subject to
 revision.
 
 
 The Consumer Price Index for June 2013 is scheduled to be released on
 Tuesday, July 16, 2013, at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).





 Discontinuation of Department Store Inventory Indexes
 
 The Bureau of Labor Statistics will discontinue publication of its
 Department Store Inventory indexes after the release of the December
 2013 CPI in mid-January 2014, and these values will no longer be
 uploaded to the Labstat database. For further information please
 contact Sharon Gibson at 202-691-6968 or gibson.sharon@bls.gov.
 
 Publication Changes for Average Price Series
 
 The Bureau of Labor Statistics will discontinue publication of three
 average price series after the release of the June 2013 CPI in mid-
 July 2013. They are:
 
 -         utility (piped) gas, 40 therms;
 -         utility (piped) gas, 100 therms; and
 -         electricity, 500 kilowatt hours.
 
 The Bureau will, however, continue to publish average prices for
 utility (piped) gas on a per therm basis, and will continue to
 publish electricity prices on a per kilowatt hour basis. As such,
 users will be able to convert these data to any consumption amount.
 CPI Detailed Report table P1. Average residential prices for utility
 (piped) gas, electricity, and fuel oil, U.S. city average and
 selected areas will no longer be published.  Data for fuel oil #2,
 per gallon (3.785 liters) will continue to be available in the CPI
 Average Price Data public database.
 
 Facilities for Sensory Impaired
 
 Information from this release will be made available to sensory
 impaired individuals upon request.  Voice phone:  202-691-5200,
 Federal Relay Services:  1-800-877-8339.
 
 Brief Explanation of the CPI
      
 The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in
 prices over time of goods and services purchased by households.  The
 Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups:
 (1) the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W),
 which covers households of wage earners and clerical workers that
 comprise approximately 29 percent of the total population and (2) the
 CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) and the Chained CPI for All Urban
 Consumers (C-CPI-U), which cover approximately 88 percent of the
 total population and include in addition to wage earners and clerical
 worker households, 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 CPIs are based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, and fuels,
 transportation fares, charges for doctors' and dentists' services,
 drugs, and other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day
 living.  Prices are collected each month 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.  Prices of fuels and a few
 other items are obtained every month in all 87 locations.  Prices of
 most other commodities and services are collected every month in the
 three largest geographic areas and every other month in other areas.
 Prices of most goods and services are obtained by personal visits or
 telephone calls of the Bureau's trained representatives.
      
 In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each
 location are averaged together with weights, which represent their
 importance in the spending of the appropriate population group.
 Local data are then combined to obtain a U.S. city average.  For the
 CPI-U and CPI-W separate indexes are also published by size of city,
 by region of the country, for cross-classifications of regions and
 population-size classes, and for 27 local areas.  Area indexes do not
 measure differences in the level of prices among cities; they only
 measure the average change in prices for each area since the base
 period.  For the C-CPI-U data are issued only at the national level.
 It is important to note that the CPI-U and CPI-W are considered final
 when released, but the C-CPI-U is issued in preliminary form and
 subject to two annual revisions.
      
 The index measures price change from a designed reference date.  For
 the CPI-U and the CPI-W the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100.
 The reference base for the C-CPI-U is December 1999 equals 100.  An
 increase of 16.5 percent from the reference base, for example, is
 shown as 116.500.  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 visit the CPI home page on the Internet at
 http://www.bls.gov/cpi/ or contact our CPI Information and Analysis
 Section on (202) 691-7000.
 
 
 Note on Sampling Error in the Consumer Price Index
 
 The CPI is a statistical estimate that is subject to sampling error
 because it is based upon a sample of retail prices and not the
 complete universe of all prices. BLS calculates and publishes
 estimates of the 1-month, 2-month, 6-month and 12-month percent
 change standard errors annually, for the CPI-U.  These standard error
 estimates can be used to construct confidence intervals for
 hypothesis testing. For example, the estimated standard error of the
 1 month percent change is 0.04 percent for the U.S. All Items
 Consumer Price Index.  This means that if we repeatedly sample from
 the universe of all retail prices using the same methodology, and
 estimate a percentage change for each sample, then 95% of these
 estimates would be within 0.08 percent of the 1 month percentage
 change based on all retail prices.  For example, for a 1-month change
 of 0.2 percent in the All Items CPI for All Urban Consumers, we are
 95 percent confident that the actual percent change based on all
 retail prices would fall between 0.12 and 0.28 percent. For the
 latest data, including information on how to use the estimates of
 standard error, see "Variance Estimates for Price Changes in the
 Consumer Price Index, January-December 2012".  These data are
 available on the CPI home page (http://www.bls.gov/cpi), or by using
 the following link: http://www.bls.gov/cpi/cpivar2012.pdf
 
 
 
 Calculating Index Changes
 
 Movements of the indexes from one month to another are usually
 expressed as percent changes rather than changes in index points,
 because index point changes are affected by the level of the index in
 relation to its base period while percent changes are not.  The
 example below illustrates the computation of index point and percent
 changes.
      
 Percent changes for 3-month and 6-month periods are expressed as
 annual rates and are computed according to the standard formula for
 compound growth rates.  These data indicate what the percent change
 would be if the current rate were maintained for a 12-month period.
 
 Index Point Change
 
 CPI
 202.416
 Less previous index
 201.800
 Equals index point change
 .616
 
 
 
 Percent Change
 
 Index point difference
 .616
 Divided by the previous index
 201.800
 Equals
 0.003
 Results multiplied by one hundred
 0.003x100
 Equals percent change
 0.3
 
 
 
 A Note on Seasonally Adjusted and Unadjusted Data
   
 Because price data are used for different purposes by different
 groups, the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes seasonally adjusted
 as well as unadjusted changes each month.
 
 For analyzing general price trends in the economy, seasonally
 adjusted changes are usually preferred since they eliminate the
 effect of changes that normally occur at the same time and in about
 the same magnitude every year--such as price movements resulting from
 changing climatic conditions, production cycles, model changeovers,
 holidays, and sales.
 
 The unadjusted data are of primary interest to consumers concerned
 about the prices they actually pay.  Unadjusted data also are used
 extensively for escalation purposes.  Many collective bargaining
 contract agreements and pension plans, for example, tie compensation
 changes to the Consumer Price Index before adjustment for seasonal
 variation.
 
 Seasonal factors used in computing the seasonally adjusted indexes
 are derived by the X-12-ARIMA Seasonal Adjustment Method.  Seasonally
 adjusted indexes and seasonal factors are computed annually.  Each
 year, the last 5 years of seasonally adjusted data are revised.  Data
 from January 2008 through December 2012 were replaced in January
 2013.  Exceptions to the usual revision schedule were: the updated
 seasonal data at the end of 1977 replaced data from 1967 through
 1977; and, in January 2002, dependently seasonally adjusted series
 were revised for January 1987-December 2001 as a result of a change
 in the aggregation weights for dependently adjusted series. For
 further information, please see "Aggregation of Dependently Adjusted
 Seasonally Adjusted Series," in the October 2001 issue of the CPI
 Detailed Report.
 
 Effective with the publication of data from January 2006 through
 December 2010 in January 2011, the Video and audio series and the
 Information technology, hardware and services series were changed
 from independently adjusted to dependently adjusted.  This resulted
 in an increase in the number of seasonal components used in deriving
 seasonal movement of the All items and 54 other lower level
 aggregations, from 73 for the publication of January 1998 through
 December 2005 data to 82 for the publication of seasonally adjusted
 data for January 2006 and later.  Each year the seasonal status of
 every series is reevaluated based upon certain statistical criteria.
 If any of the 82 components change their seasonal adjustment status
 from seasonally adjusted to not seasonally adjusted, not seasonally
 adjusted data will be used in the aggregation of the dependent series
 for the last 5 years, but the seasonally adjusted indexes before that
 period will not be changed.  Note: 37 of the 82 components are not
 seasonally adjusted for 2013.
 
 Seasonally adjusted data, including the all items index levels, are
 subject to revision for up to five years after their original
 release.  For this reason, BLS advises against the use of these data
 in escalation agreements.
 
 Effective with the calculation of the seasonal factors for 1990, the
 Bureau of Labor Statistics has used an enhanced seasonal adjustment
 procedure called Intervention Analysis Seasonal Adjustment for some
 CPI series.  Intervention Analysis Seasonal Adjustment allows for
 better estimates of seasonally adjusted data.  Extreme values and/or
 sharp movements which might distort the seasonal pattern are
 estimated and removed from the data prior to calculation of seasonal
 factors.  Beginning with the calculation of seasonal factors for
 1996, X-12-ARIMA software was used for Intervention Analysis Seasonal
 Adjustment.
 
 For the seasonal factors introduced in January 2013, BLS adjusted 31
 series using Intervention Analysis Seasonal Adjustment, including
 selected food and beverage items, motor fuels, electricity and
 vehicles.  For example, this procedure was used for the Motor fuel
 series to offset the effects of events such as damage to oil
 refineries from Hurricane Katrina.
 
 For a complete list of Intervention Analysis Seasonal Adjustment
 series and explanations, please refer to the article "Intervention
 Analysis Seasonal Adjustment", located on our website at
 http://www.bls.gov/cpi/cpisapage.htm.
 
 For additional information on seasonal adjustment in the CPI, please
 write to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Division of Consumer Prices
 and Price Indexes, Washington, DC 20212 or contact Chris Graci at
 (202) 691-5826, or by e-mail at graci.christopher@bls.gov or contact
 Carlyle Jackson at (202) 691-6984, or by e-mail at
 jackson.carlyle@bls.gov .  If you have general questions about the
 CPI, please call our information staff at (202) 691-7000.