The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Northeast decreased 0.4 percent in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that both the energy index and the all items less food and energy index declined since November, down 2.6 and 0.2 percent, respectively. The food index was unchanged over the month. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the Northeast all items CPI-U increased 0.5 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The all items less food and energy index advanced 2.0 percent over the year, and food prices rose 0.7 percent. The increase was moderated by a 15.3-percent decline in the energy index since December 2014. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index was unchanged since November. Prices for food at home inched down 0.1 percent, while prices for food away from home inched up 0.1 percent over the month.  

From December 2014 to December 2015, the food index increased 0.7 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 2.2 percent over the year, while those for food at home edged down 0.3 percent.

Energy

The energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, decreased 2.6 percent since November, led by a 3.2-percent decline in gasoline prices. Prices for utility (piped) gas and electricity also fell over the month, down 4.0 and 0.9 percent, respectively.

The energy index fell 15.3 percent since December 2014, led by a 22.6-percent drop in gasoline prices. Prices for utility (piped) gas and electricity also decreased over the year, down 15.3 and 1.9 percent, respectively.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged down 0.2 percent in December. The index’s decline was led by lower prices for apparel (-2.0 percent), medical care (-0.3 percent), and education and communication (-0.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.0 percent, led by higher prices for shelter, particularly owners’ equivalent rent of residences (2.7 percent each). Prices were also higher over the year for education and communication (2.4 percent) and medical care (2.2 percent), among others.

Table A. Northeast region CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2011		2012		2013		2014		2015
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.4	1.6	0.4	2.9	0.3	1.8	0.6	1.5	-0.2	-0.4
February	0.5	2.0	0.4	2.8	0.6	2.0	0.1	1.0	0.2	-0.2
March	0.8	2.5	0.5	2.5	0.0	1.5	0.5	1.5	0.3	-0.4
April	0.5	2.8	0.3	2.3	-0.1	1.1	0.0	1.6	0.1	-0.3
May	0.5	3.2	-0.1	1.7	0.0	1.2	0.4	2.0	0.4	-0.3
June	0.1	3.4	-0.2	1.5	0.1	1.5	0.0	1.9	0.3	0.0
July	0.2	3.6	-0.1	1.1	0.2	1.8	0.1	1.8	-0.1	-0.2
August	0.3	3.8	0.5	1.3	0.2	1.5	-0.3	1.3	-0.2	-0.1
September	0.1	4.0	0.5	1.7	0.1	1.1	0.0	1.2	0.0	-0.1
October	-0.1	3.6	0.1	1.9	-0.4	0.7	-0.2	1.4	-0.2	-0.1
November	-0.1	3.2	-0.2	1.8	0.1	1.0	-0.4	0.9	0.0	0.3
December	-0.3	2.9	-0.3	1.8	0.0	1.3	-0.5	0.4	-0.4	0.5

The Consumer Price Index for January 2016 is scheduled to be released Friday, February 19, 2016, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

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 89 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 28 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/cpi/.

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

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