The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington increased 0.4 percent from December to February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Sheila Watkins noted that higher prices for all items less food and energy (0.3 percent) and energy (2.6 percent) were moderated by lower prices for food (-0.6 percent) since December. (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 CPI-U increased 0.5 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The over-the-year rise was led by increases in the energy index (8.3 percent) and the food index (0.4 percent). Prices for all items less food and energy declined since February 2017, down 0.2 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Following a 0.2-percent rise from October to December, the food index decreased 0.6 percent over the last two months. Prices were lower for both food at home (-0.9 percent) and food away from home (-0.3 percent) since December. Within the food at home component, prices were lower for various items including breakfast cereal, chicken, and eggs.

Over the year, the food index increased 0.4 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 1.8 percent, while those for food at home decreased 0.5 percent.

Energy

The energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, increased 2.6 percent since December. Higher prices for gasoline, up 6.5 percent since December, were moderated by lower prices for electricity and utility (piped) gas service, down 1.4 and 1.2 percent, respectively, over the last two months.

Over the year, the energy index rose 8.3 percent, led by a 15.3-percent advance in gasoline prices. Prices were also higher for utility (piped) gas service (8.8 percent), while those for electricity declined 2.1 percent over the year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.3 percent from December to February, led by higher prices for apparel (11.9 percent) and medical care (0.9 percent). Lower prices for recreation (-3.9 percent), among others, moderated the increase in the all items less food and energy index since December.

Since February 2017, the index for all items less food and energy edged down 0.2 percent. Prices were lower for a number of items including recreation (-5.4 percent), education and communication (-2.8 percent), and household furnishings and operations (-2.7 percent).

Table A. Philadelphia CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2014		2015		2016		2017		2018
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	0.5	1.0	-0.2	-0.1	0.3	0.3	0.7	2.1	0.4	0.5
April	0.5	1.4	0.5	0.0	0.9	0.6	0.0	1.3
June	0.6	1.8	0.8	0.2	0.3	0.1	-0.3	0.7
August	0.0	1.3	-0.5	-0.3	-0.2	0.4	0.5	1.4
October	-0.1	1.6	-0.3	-0.5	0.6	1.3	0.0	0.8
December	-0.8	0.6	-0.6	-0.2	-0.1	1.7	-0.1	0.8

The Consumer Price Index for April 2018 is scheduled to be released Thursday, May 10, 2018 at 8:30 am (ET).

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index for Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington is published bi-monthly. 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, Core Based Statistical Area includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania; Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, and Salem Counties in New Jersey; New Castle County in Delaware; and Cecil County in Maryland.

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, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from
	Historical data	Dec. 2017	Jan. 2018	Feb. 2018	Feb. 2017	Dec. 2017	Jan. 2018
All items		248.617		249.567	0.5	0.4
All items (1967 = 100)		718.240		720.985
Food and beverages		233.891		232.677	0.3	-0.5
Food		234.078		232.563	0.4	-0.6
Food at home		239.043	236.617	236.928	-0.5	-0.9	0.1
Cereals and bakery products		301.509		295.321		-2.1
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		261.224		261.061		-0.1
Dairy and related products		201.122		198.142		-1.5
Fruits and vegetables		282.546		275.316		-2.6
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		152.256		151.651		-0.4
Other food at home		218.378		219.330		0.4
Food away from home		221.804		221.136	1.8	-0.3
Alcoholic beverages		228.725		231.852	-0.7	1.4
Housing		256.561		256.783	1.1	0.1
Shelter		319.756	318.605	320.080	1.3	0.1	0.5
Rent of primary residence(2)		298.183	298.528	299.129	2.2	0.3	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)(3)(4)		327.825	327.967	328.600	1.3	0.2	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)(3)(4)		327.825	327.967	328.600	1.3	0.2	0.2
Fuels and utilities		206.856		205.787	2.9	-0.5
Household energy		171.926	170.827	170.917	3.0	-0.6	0.1
Energy services(2)		181.176	177.819	178.819	1.2	-1.3	0.6
Electricity(2)		184.437	180.729	181.906	-2.1	-1.4	0.7
Utility (piped) gas service(2)		164.791	162.181	162.846	8.8	-1.2	0.4
Household furnishings and operations		109.325		110.267	-2.7	0.9
Apparel		101.223		113.272	-0.9	11.9
Transportation		208.271		210.997	2.1	1.3
Private transportation		207.831		209.993	2.4	1.0
New and used motor vehicles(5)		95.018		94.777		-0.3
New vehicles(1)		176.334		175.204		-0.6
Used cars and trucks(1)		250.399		253.046		1.1
Motor fuel		236.495	249.213	251.700	15.3	6.4	1.0
Gasoline (all types)		233.093	245.559	248.183	15.3	6.5	1.1
Gasoline, unleaded regular(6)		229.884	242.631	245.207	15.7	6.7	1.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(6)(7)		239.850	250.000	250.764	12.7	4.6	0.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(6)		236.999	246.599	249.702	13.2	5.4	1.3
Motor vehicle insurance(1)		813.326		752.183		-7.5
Medical care		514.200		518.615	2.0	0.9
Recreation(5)		122.355		117.524	-5.4	-3.9
Education and communication(5)		130.003		130.157	-2.8	0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,026.062		1,029.802		0.4
Other goods and services		538.332		538.065	0.9	0.0
Commodity and service group
Commodities		176.379		179.502	1.7	1.8
Commodities less food and beverages		144.784		149.179	2.4	3.0
Nondurables less food and beverages		185.740		195.126	5.2	5.1
Durables		100.252		100.157	-1.8	-0.1
Services		321.884		321.019	-0.1	-0.3
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		225.333		226.539	0.1	0.5
All items less medical care		237.436		238.233	0.3	0.3
Commodities less food		147.782		152.184	2.3	3.0
Nondurables		210.949		216.011	2.9	2.4
Nondurables less food		188.236		197.370	4.8	4.9
Services less rent of shelter(3)		331.296		329.325	-1.4	-0.6
Services less medical care services		307.524		306.405	-0.2	-0.4
Energy		195.141	199.227	200.215	8.3	2.6	0.5
All items less energy		256.403		256.869	-0.1	0.2
All items less food and energy		262.820		263.583	-0.2	0.3
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base (2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (3) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (4) This index series underwent a change in composition in January 2010. The expenditure class now includes weight from secondary residences, and has been re-titled "Owners' equivalent rent of residences." The item stratum "Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence" excludes secondary residences. (5) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (6) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (7) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.