The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Northeast inched up 0.1 percent in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that this was due to an increase in the all items less food and energy index (0.2 percent). The energy index and food index both decreased over the month, down 0.4 and 0.1 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 1.7 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) This was due almost entirely to an advance in the all items less food and energy index, up 2.3 percent. The food index also rose, up 1.3 percent since July 2018, while the energy index declined 3.5 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index decreased 0.1 percent since June. Prices for food at home were down 0.3 percent, while those for food away from home edged up 0.2 percent.

From July 2018 to July 2019, the food index increased 1.3 percent. Prices for both food away from home and food at home increased over the year, up 2.9 and 0.1 percent, respectively.

Energy

The energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, declined 0.4 percent in July, due mostly to lower electricity prices, down 1.4 percent. Prices were also lower for utility (piped) gas service (-2.2 percent) while those for gasoline were higher (0.9 percent).

The energy index decreased 3.5 percent since July 2018. The decline reflected lower prices for gasoline, down 4.2 percent, and electricity, down 2.2 percent. Utility (piped) gas service prices also decreased (-2.9 percent) over the year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.2 percent over the month. Prices were higher for shelter (0.2 percent), medical care (0.6 percent), and education and communication (0.6 percent) among others.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.3 percent since July 2018, led by higher prices for shelter, up 2.5 percent. Prices also rose over the year for medical care (4.3 percent) and recreation (2.4 percent), among others.

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

Month	2015		2016		2017		2018		2019
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	-0.2	-0.4	0.0	0.7	0.6	2.5	0.5	1.6	0.3	1.5
February	0.2	-0.2	0.2	0.7	0.3	2.6	0.4	1.7	0.2	1.3
March	0.3	-0.4	0.2	0.6	-0.1	2.2	0.1	2.0	0.5	1.7
April	0.1	-0.3	0.6	1.0	0.3	1.9	0.4	2.1	0.4	1.7
May	0.4	-0.3	0.3	0.9	0.1	1.7	0.4	2.5	0.3	1.5
June	0.3	0.0	0.2	0.7	0.0	1.5	0.0	2.6	0.1	1.6
July	-0.1	-0.2	0.0	0.8	-0.2	1.3	0.0	2.7	0.1	1.7
August	-0.2	-0.1	0.1	1.0	0.3	1.6	0.2	2.7
September	0.0	-0.1	0.2	1.3	0.5	1.9	0.1	2.2
October	-0.2	-0.1	0.2	1.6	-0.1	1.5	-0.1	2.3
November	0.0	0.3	0.0	1.6	0.0	1.6	-0.4	1.9
December	-0.4	0.5	0.0	1.9	0.1	1.7	-0.1	1.7

Geographic divisions

Additional price indexes are now available for the two divisions of the Northeast. Over the month, the all items CPI-U inched up 0.1 percent in the Middle Atlantic division, but inched down 0.1 percent in the New England division.

Over the year, the all items index advanced 1.8 percent in the New England division. (See table B.) Prices also rose in the Middle Atlantic division, up 1.7 percent.

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

Area	1-month change	12-month change
Northeast	0.1	1.7
New England Division	-0.1	1.8
Middle Atlantic Division	0.1	1.7

The Consumer Price Index for August 2019 is scheduled to be released Thursday, September 12, 2019, 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.

The New England division is comprised of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

The Middle Atlantic division is comprised of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

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	May 2019	Jun. 2019	Jul. 2019	Jul. 2018	May 2019	Jun. 2019
All items		269.744	270.133	270.381	1.7	0.2	0.1
All items (December 1977 = 100)		424.765	425.377	425.767
Food and beverages		263.180	263.945	263.657	1.3	0.2	-0.1
Food		263.725	264.562	264.282	1.3	0.2	-0.1
Food at home		250.646	251.013	250.175	0.1	-0.2	-0.3
Cereals and bakery products		299.438	298.218	296.600	1.0	-0.9	-0.5
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		250.483	251.473	252.380	-0.4	0.8	0.4
Dairy and related products		228.482	227.682	228.844	0.6	0.2	0.5
Fruits and vegetables		316.098	313.129	312.912	0.3	-1.0	-0.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		175.936	178.917	175.045	1.0	-0.5	-2.2
Other food at home		223.253	224.488	223.386	-0.6	0.1	-0.5
Food away from home		286.691	288.223	288.751	2.9	0.7	0.2
Alcoholic beverages		255.102	254.995	254.608	0.4	-0.2	-0.2
Housing		287.727	288.767	288.869	2.0	0.4	0.0
Shelter		358.234	359.255	359.887	2.5	0.5	0.2
Rent of primary residence		360.075	361.358	362.099	3.0	0.6	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)		368.886	369.402	369.958	2.1	0.3	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)		368.586	369.099	369.656	2.1	0.3	0.2
Fuels and utilities		226.355	228.663	225.985	-1.9	-0.2	-1.2
Household energy		199.632	201.520	198.572	-2.9	-0.5	-1.5
Energy services		196.145	199.478	196.140	-2.4	0.0	-1.7
Electricity		201.464	206.863	203.907	-2.2	1.2	-1.4
Utility (piped) gas service		172.217	171.916	168.209	-2.9	-2.3	-2.2
Household furnishings and operations		120.594	120.883	121.195	1.6	0.5	0.3
Apparel		127.941	128.893	126.511	1.4	-1.1	-1.8
Transportation		211.629	209.993	210.070	-0.3	-0.7	0.0
Private transportation		203.615	201.448	202.161	-0.7	-0.7	0.4
New and used motor vehicles(2)		96.771	97.145	97.511	0.1	0.8	0.4
New vehicles		146.834	146.411	145.271	1.4	-1.1	-0.8
New cars and trucks(2)(3)		101.763	101.479	100.688	1.5	-1.1	-0.8
New cars(3)		135.121	134.819	134.019	1.1	-0.8	-0.6
Used cars and trucks		144.998	147.068	149.210	1.8	2.9	1.5
Motor fuel		248.681	237.616	239.743	-4.2	-3.6	0.9
Gasoline (all types)		247.663	236.565	238.722	-4.2	-3.6	0.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)		245.346	233.954	236.158	-4.3	-3.7	0.9
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)		260.167	250.774	252.455	-3.6	-3.0	0.7
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)		253.334	244.834	246.585	-3.0	-2.7	0.7
Motor vehicle insurance(5)		622.511	621.462	620.674	0.8	-0.3	-0.1
Medical care		521.223	522.800	526.016	4.3	0.9	0.6
Medical care commodities		403.054	402.677	404.997	3.8	0.5	0.6
Medical care services		555.114	557.284	560.760	4.4	1.0	0.6
Professional services		387.893	392.274	394.032	3.5	1.6	0.4
Recreation(2)		126.008	126.575	126.962	2.4	0.8	0.3
Education and communication(2)		143.002	142.817	143.618	1.6	0.4	0.6
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)		1,253.615	1,253.804	1,258.407	3.1	0.4	0.4
Other goods and services		495.913	495.992	499.857	2.2	0.8	0.8
Commodity and service group
Commodities		193.019	192.352	192.355	0.6	-0.3	0.0
Commodities less food and beverages		154.846	153.661	153.777	0.1	-0.7	0.1
Nondurables less food and beverages		202.844	199.965	199.845	-0.4	-1.5	-0.1
Durables		102.667	102.909	103.196	0.9	0.5	0.3
Services		343.671	345.002	345.471	2.3	0.5	0.1
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		239.230	239.388	239.495	1.3	0.1	0.0
All items less medical care		258.686	259.021	259.133	1.5	0.2	0.0
Commodities less food		158.511	157.352	157.454	0.1	-0.7	0.1
Nondurables		233.198	231.969	231.770	0.4	-0.6	-0.1
Nondurables less food		205.873	203.162	203.026	-0.4	-1.4	-0.1
Services less rent of shelter(1)		339.764	341.482	341.788	2.0	0.6	0.1
Services less medical care services		329.098	330.371	330.634	2.0	0.5	0.1
Energy		219.921	216.394	215.570	-3.5	-2.0	-0.4
All items less energy		277.569	278.374	278.737	2.2	0.4	0.1
All items less food and energy		281.782	282.588	283.058	2.3	0.5	0.2
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (2) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (5) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.