The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Northeast advanced 0.4 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that the recent one-month increase mainly reflected a 0.3-percent increase in the all items less food and energy index. The energy index and the food index also increased since March, up 1.8 and 0.5 percent, respectively. (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 2.1 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The all items less food and energy index led the advance, rising 1.5 percent. The energy index and the food index also rose, up 9.7 and 1.7 percent, respectively, since April 2017. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index advanced 0.5 percent since March as prices rose for both food away from home (0.6 percent) and food at home (0.4 percent).

From April 2017 to April 2018, the food index increased 1.7 percent. Prices for food away from home and food at home increased over the year, up 2.6 and 1.1 percent, respectively.

Energy

The energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, increased 1.8 percent in April, due to higher prices for gasoline, up 5.5 percent. Prices for electricity and utility (piped) gas service decreased over the month, down 1.7 and 0.7 percent, respectively.

The energy index advanced 9.7 percent since April 2017. The increase reflected higher prices for gasoline, up 13.3 percent. Prices also increased over the year for utility (piped) gas service (10.0 percent) and electricity (2.4 percent).

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.3 percent over the month. The recent advance was due largely to a rise in shelter prices, up 0.3 percent since March. Prices were also higher for apparel (1.8 percent), among others, while prices were lower for new and used motor vehicles (-0.4 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.5 percent since April 2017, led by higher prices for shelter, up 2.5 percent. Prices also rose over the year for medical care (2.7 percent), but were lower for household furnishings and operations (-0.9 percent).

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

Month	2014		2015		2016		2017		2018
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.6	1.5	-0.2	-0.4	0.0	0.7	0.6	2.5	0.5	1.6
February	0.1	1.0	0.2	-0.2	0.2	0.7	0.3	2.6	0.4	1.7
March	0.5	1.5	0.3	-0.4	0.2	0.6	-0.1	2.2	0.1	2.0
April	0.0	1.6	0.1	-0.3	0.6	1.0	0.3	1.9	0.4	2.1
May	0.4	2.0	0.4	-0.3	0.3	0.9	0.1	1.7
June	0.0	1.9	0.3	0.0	0.2	0.7	0.0	1.5
July	0.1	1.8	-0.1	-0.2	0.0	0.8	-0.2	1.3
August	-0.3	1.3	-0.2	-0.1	0.1	1.0	0.3	1.6
September	0.0	1.2	0.0	-0.1	0.2	1.3	0.5	1.9
October	-0.2	1.4	-0.2	-0.1	0.2	1.6	-0.1	1.5
November	-0.4	0.9	0.0	0.3	0.0	1.6	0.0	1.6
December	-0.5	0.4	-0.4	0.5	0.0	1.9	0.1	1.7

The Consumer Price Index for May 2018 is scheduled to be released Tuesday, June 12, 2018, 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 93 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 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 75 urban areas across the country from about 5,000 housing units and approximately 22,000 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	Feb. 2018	Mar. 2018	Apr. 2018	Apr. 2017	Feb. 2018	Mar. 2018
All items		263.260	263.556	264.669	2.1	0.5	0.4
All items (December 1977 = 100)		414.554	415.020	416.772
Food and beverages		258.050	258.100	259.235	1.6	0.5	0.4
Food		258.275	258.385	259.625	1.7	0.5	0.5
Food at home		247.881	248.406	249.436	1.1	0.6	0.4
Cereals and bakery products		291.898	294.079	293.366		0.5	-0.2
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		249.077	252.387	255.219		2.5	1.1
Dairy and related products		225.716	225.582	225.197		-0.2	-0.2
Fruits and vegetables		314.203	310.177	311.887		-0.7	0.6
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		172.653	173.398	172.571		0.0	-0.5
Other food at home		221.699	221.806	223.498		0.8	0.8
Food away from home		277.257	276.763	278.327	2.6	0.4	0.6
Alcoholic beverages		253.896	253.216	253.071	0.5	-0.3	-0.1
Housing		279.729	280.985	281.574	2.6	0.7	0.2
Shelter		345.507	347.179	348.276	2.5	0.8	0.3
Rent of primary residence(1)		348.355	349.161	349.889	2.6	0.4	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)(2)		357.898	358.681	359.918	2.5	0.6	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)(2)		357.645	358.432	359.669	2.5	0.6	0.3
Fuels and utilities		230.611	231.105	229.335	6.2	-0.6	-0.8
Household energy		205.382	205.988	203.994	6.8	-0.7	-1.0
Energy services(1)		201.856	202.979	200.253	4.7	-0.8	-1.3
Electricity(1)		203.693	205.089	201.559	2.4	-1.0	-1.7
Utility (piped) gas service(1)		183.172	183.764	182.562	10.0	-0.3	-0.7
Household furnishings and operations		118.970	119.485	120.108	-0.9	1.0	0.5
Apparel		131.169	130.835	133.247	-0.1	1.6	1.8
Transportation		205.849	205.091	207.639	3.3	0.9	1.2
Private transportation		198.148	197.503	199.980	4.2	0.9	1.3
New and used motor vehicles(3)		96.233	96.871	96.514	0.4	0.3	-0.4
New vehicles		145.661	145.485	145.056	-0.2	-0.4	-0.3
New cars and trucks(3)(4)		100.945	100.821	100.527	-0.1	-0.4	-0.3
New cars(4)		134.827	134.300	133.868	-1.3	-0.7	-0.3
Used cars and trucks		143.053	145.718	145.294	-0.9	1.6	-0.3
Motor fuel		229.749	224.884	237.081	13.3	3.2	5.4
Gasoline (all types)		228.647	223.792	236.049	13.3	3.2	5.5
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		226.249	221.284	233.807	13.6	3.3	5.7
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		241.142	237.074	247.333	11.6	2.6	4.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		235.827	231.937	241.824	11.2	2.5	4.3
Motor vehicle insurance(6)		620.300	620.384	620.681		0.1	0.0
Medical care		503.759	504.112	504.859	2.7	0.2	0.1
Medical care commodities		393.657	390.484	388.475	0.8	-1.3	-0.5
Medical care services		535.252	536.686	538.277	3.2	0.6	0.3
Professional services		379.937	380.157	380.487	1.0	0.1	0.1
Recreation(3)		124.211	123.949	124.184	-0.1	0.0	0.2
Education and communication(3)		140.191	139.664	139.679	-0.3	-0.4	0.0
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)		1,213.664	1,210.467	1,210.467		-0.3	0.0
Other goods and services		485.267	486.713	488.167	2.8	0.6	0.3
Commodity and service group
Commodities		189.959	189.633	191.390	2.1	0.8	0.9
Commodities less food and beverages		152.764	152.310	154.209	2.3	0.9	1.2
Nondurables less food and beverages		198.832	196.929	201.256	4.5	1.2	2.2
Durables		102.281	102.994	102.828	-0.8	0.5	-0.2
Services		334.012	334.865	335.433	2.1	0.4	0.2
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		235.006	234.793	235.922	1.9	0.4	0.5
All items less medical care		252.695	252.988	254.120	2.1	0.6	0.4
Commodities less food		156.444	155.981	157.831	2.3	0.9	1.2
Nondurables		228.620	227.597	230.501	3.0	0.8	1.3
Nondurables less food		202.032	200.203	204.260	4.2	1.1	2.0
Services less rent of shelter(2)		333.222	333.212	333.226	1.8	0.0	0.0
Services less medical care services		320.141	320.954	321.452	2.0	0.4	0.2
Energy		215.352	213.671	217.608	9.7	1.0	1.8
All items less energy		270.820	271.327	272.153	1.5	0.5	0.3
All items less food and energy		274.774	275.350	276.113	1.5	0.5	0.3
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. (6) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.