The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Northeast edged up 0.3 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that the recent increase was largely due to a 0.2-percent increase in the all items less food and energy index. The energy index also increased, up 1.1 percent over the month, while the food index inched down 0.1 percent. (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 1.6 percent, due largely to a 1.0-percent advance in the all items less food and energy index. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index and food index also increased, up 8.8 and 1.3 percent, respectively. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index inched down 0.1 percent since July. Prices for food at home decreased 0.3 percent while prices for food away from home edged up 0.2 percent.

From August 2016 to August 2017, the food index increased 1.3 percent, as prices for food away from home increased 2.3 percent and prices for food at home rose 0.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, increased 1.1 percent since July, reflecting a 3.4-percent advance in gasoline prices. Lower prices for electricity and utility (piped) gas service moderated the increase over the month, decreasing 1.0 percent each.

The energy index advanced 8.8 percent since August 2016. The increase was led by a 14.0-percent rise in gasoline prices. Prices also increased over the year for utility (piped) gas service (9.1 percent) and electricity (3.0 percent).

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.2 percent over the month. Price increases for categories including shelter (0.5 percent) and apparel (3.5 percent), among others, contributed to the rise.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.0 percent since August 2016, led by higher prices for shelter (2.0 percent). Prices were also higher over the year for several other categories including recreation (2.5 percent) and medical care (1.4 percent). Meanwhile, prices were lower for education and communication (-1.8 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (-2.1 percent).

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

Month	2013		2014		2015		2016		2017
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.3	1.8	0.6	1.5	-0.2	-0.4	0.0	0.7	0.6	2.5
February	0.6	2.0	0.1	1.0	0.2	-0.2	0.2	0.7	0.3	2.6
March	0.0	1.5	0.5	1.5	0.3	-0.4	0.2	0.6	-0.1	2.2
April	-0.1	1.1	0.0	1.6	0.1	-0.3	0.6	1.0	0.3	1.9
May	0.0	1.2	0.4	2.0	0.4	-0.3	0.3	0.9	0.1	1.7
June	0.1	1.5	0.0	1.9	0.3	0.0	0.2	0.7	0.0	1.5
July	0.2	1.8	0.1	1.8	-0.1	-0.2	0.0	0.8	-0.2	1.3
August	0.2	1.5	-0.3	1.3	-0.2	-0.1	0.1	1.0	0.3	1.6
September	0.1	1.1	0.0	1.2	0.0	-0.1	0.2	1.3
October	-0.4	0.7	-0.2	1.4	-0.2	-0.1	0.2	1.6
November	0.1	1.0	-0.4	0.9	0.0	0.3	0.0	1.6
December	0.0	1.3	-0.5	0.4	-0.4	0.5	0.0	1.9

The Consumer Price Index for September 2017 is scheduled to be released Friday, October 13, 2017, 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/pdf/homch17.pdf.

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.

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

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods, Northeast Region, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from
	Historical data	Jun. 2017	Jul. 2017	Aug. 2017	Aug. 2016	Jun. 2017	Jul. 2017
All items		259.335	258.833	259.508	1.6	0.1	0.3
All items (December 1977 = 100)		408.373	407.582	408.647
Food and beverages		254.878	255.795	255.542	1.3	0.3	-0.1
Food		254.968	255.978	255.701	1.3	0.3	-0.1
Food at home		245.729	246.937	246.165	0.6	0.2	-0.3
Food away from home		272.129	272.847	273.329	2.3	0.4	0.2
Alcoholic beverages		252.521	252.242	252.291	0.6	-0.1	0.0
Housing		275.597	275.436	276.330	2.1	0.3	0.3
Shelter		340.804	341.308	343.129	2.0	0.7	0.5
Rent of primary residence(1)		342.498	342.804	344.403	2.7	0.6	0.5
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)(2)		352.080	352.508	353.634	2.0	0.4	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)(2)		351.811	352.248	353.382	2.0	0.4	0.3
Fuels and utilities		219.462	218.125	217.229	4.8	-1.0	-0.4
Household energy		194.376	192.907	191.943	5.3	-1.3	-0.5
Energy services(1)		196.977	195.706	193.794	4.6	-1.6	-1.0
Electricity(1)		204.883	204.470	202.525	3.0	-1.2	-1.0
Utility (piped) gas service(1)		166.297	163.292	161.586	9.1	-2.8	-1.0
Household furnishings and operations		121.533	119.970	119.127	-0.9	-2.0	-0.7
Apparel		129.609	126.370	130.769	-0.6	0.9	3.5
Transportation		200.687	198.724	199.211	2.2	-0.7	0.2
Private transportation		191.246	190.125	191.503	2.6	0.1	0.7
New and used motor vehicles(3)		96.121	95.413	95.120	-2.1	-1.0	-0.3
New vehicles		145.076	143.794	143.595	-1.4	-1.0	-0.1
New cars and trucks(3)(4)		100.485	99.601	99.458	-1.4	-1.0	-0.1
New cars(4)		135.161	133.605	133.556	-2.1	-1.2	0.0
Used cars and trucks		145.717	145.077	144.782	-4.6	-0.6	-0.2
Motor fuel		205.060	201.924	208.871	14.0	1.9	3.4
Gasoline (all types)		204.234	201.099	208.022	14.0	1.9	3.4
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		201.519	198.383	205.490	14.5	2.0	3.6
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		218.029	215.216	220.988	11.7	1.4	2.7
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		214.862	211.711	217.035	11.2	1.0	2.5
Medical care		493.415	494.618	495.072	1.4	0.3	0.1
Medical care commodities		387.343	387.515	387.268	-0.4	0.0	-0.1
Medical care services		523.590	525.130	525.819	1.9	0.4	0.1
Professional services		377.001	377.289	376.998	0.7	0.0	-0.1
Recreation(3)		124.041	124.085	124.053	2.5	0.0	0.0
Education and communication(3)		139.480	139.069	139.020	-1.8	-0.3	0.0
Other goods and services		477.410	477.991	476.618	2.2	-0.2	-0.3
Commodity and service group
Commodities		186.401	185.464	186.303	1.0	-0.1	0.5
Commodities less food and beverages		149.273	147.631	148.870	0.8	-0.3	0.8
Nondurables less food and beverages		189.782	187.588	190.785	3.2	0.5	1.7
Durables		103.440	102.386	101.984	-2.7	-1.4	-0.4
Services		329.674	329.545	330.092	1.8	0.1	0.2
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		231.332	230.455	230.714	1.3	-0.3	0.1
All items less medical care		249.053	248.474	249.161	1.6	0.0	0.3
Commodities less food		152.996	151.384	152.596	0.7	-0.3	0.8
Nondurables		222.195	221.448	223.047	2.2	0.4	0.7
Nondurables less food		193.445	191.365	194.374	3.0	0.5	1.6
Services less rent of shelter(2)		329.130	328.325	327.524	1.6	-0.5	-0.2
Services less medical care services		316.293	316.055	316.592	1.8	0.1	0.2
Energy		198.853	196.720	198.899	8.8	0.0	1.1
All items less energy		268.150	267.808	268.339	1.0	0.1	0.2
All items less food and energy		272.195	271.623	272.293	1.0	0.0	0.2
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) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.