The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington declined 1.3 percent from February to April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Sheila Watkins noted that the recent two-month decrease was due largely to a 1.3-percent decline in the all items less food and energy index. The energy index also decreased since February, down 8.7 percent, while the food index rose 2.4 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 CPI-U inched down 0.1 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The over-the-year decrease was led by a decline in the energy index (-16.1 percent). The food index and all items less food and energy index advanced since April 2019, up 4.8 and 0.6 percent, respectively. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index increased 2.4 percent over the last two months. Prices for food at home increased since February, up 3.4 percent, and those for food away from home rose 1.1 percent.

Over the year, the food index increased 4.8 percent. Prices for food at home rose 5.3 percent, and those for food away from home were up 4.3 percent.

Energy

The energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, decreased 8.7 percent since February. The two-month decline was led by a 15.4-percent decrease in gasoline prices. Prices were also lower for electricity, down 1.3 percent, while those for utility (piped) gas service increased, up 1.3 percent.

Over the year, the energy index decreased 16.1 percent, due to a drop in gasoline prices, down 25.2 percent. Prices were also lower for utility (piped) gas service and electricity, down 8.6 and 2.2 percent, respectively.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy declined 1.3 percent from February to April. Lower prices were led by apparel (-7.9 percent), shelter (-0.2 percent), and recreation (-1.0 percent).

Since April 2019, the index for all items less food and energy increased 0.6 percent. Prices were higher for a number of items including shelter (2.3 percent), medical care (2.3 percent), and recreation (1.7 percent), among others.

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

Month	2016		2017		2018		2019		2020
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	0.3	0.3	0.7	2.1	0.4	0.5	0.8	1.5	1.0	2.6
April	0.9	0.6	0.0	1.3	0.9	1.4	1.3	1.9	-1.3	-0.1
June	0.3	0.1	-0.3	0.7	0.2	1.9	0.5	2.1
August	-0.2	0.4	0.5	1.4	0.3	1.7	0.5	2.3
October	0.6	1.3	0.0	0.8	0.0	1.6	-0.4	1.9
December	-0.1	1.7	-0.1	0.8	-0.7	1.0	-0.3	2.4

The Consumer Price Index for June 2020 is scheduled to be released Tuesday, July 14, 2020 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	Feb. 2020	Mar. 2020	Apr. 2020	Apr. 2019	Feb. 2020	Mar. 2020
All items		259.694		256.353	-0.1	-1.3
All items (1967 = 100)		750.243		740.588
Food and beverages		241.721		247.073	4.6	2.2
Food		242.456		248.266	4.8	2.4
Food at home		244.607	246.260	252.920	5.3	3.4	2.7
Cereals and bakery products		307.863		327.034	8.0	6.2
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		273.584		284.276	8.4	3.9
Dairy and related products		207.872		217.414	8.6	4.6
Fruits and vegetables		270.196		280.538	0.8	3.8
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		165.201		162.962	3.3	-1.4
Other food at home		223.455		229.341	4.0	2.6
Food away from home		233.956		236.638	4.3	1.1
Alcoholic beverages		228.575		226.835	0.9	-0.8
Housing		270.445		269.467	1.3	-0.4
Shelter		339.116	341.013	338.542	2.3	-0.2	-0.7
Rent of primary residence		315.622	316.873	317.499	3.2	0.6	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)		346.809	347.371	348.840	2.7	0.6	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)		346.809	347.371	348.840	2.7	0.6	0.4
Fuels and utilities		210.237		203.716	-5.3	-3.1
Household energy		169.575	166.482	163.492	-8.4	-3.6	-1.8
Energy services		179.912	180.481	179.011	-4.8	-0.5	-0.8
Electricity		180.168	180.089	177.855	-2.2	-1.3	-1.2
Utility (piped) gas service		167.409	169.328	169.586	-8.6	1.3	0.2
Household furnishings and operations		114.859		115.743	0.8	0.8
Apparel		112.123		103.217	-5.1	-7.9
Transportation		210.335		195.070	-9.4	-7.3
Private transportation		208.996		196.799	-8.6	-5.8
New and used motor vehicles(3)		97.894		97.640	-1.2	-0.3
New vehicles(1)		177.997		174.320	-2.2	-2.1
Used cars and trucks(1)		255.120		257.994	-0.6	1.1
Motor fuel		231.383	221.524	195.937	-25.1	-15.3	-11.6
Gasoline (all types)		228.129	218.433	192.992	-25.2	-15.4	-11.6
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		224.925	215.045	189.323	-25.8	-15.8	-12.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		235.886	228.400	207.208	-21.0	-12.2	-9.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		232.245	224.477	202.850	-21.5	-12.7	-9.6
Motor vehicle insurance(1)		741.786		617.242	-14.8	-16.8
Medical care		554.549		552.219	2.3	-0.4
Recreation(3)		126.383		125.139	1.7	-1.0
Education and communication(3)		133.173		132.942	0.8	-0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,055.951		1,055.951	1.7	0.0
Other goods and services		556.761		553.826	-0.8	-0.5
Commodity and service group
Commodities		181.622		178.932	-2.1	-1.5
Commodities less food and beverages		148.797		142.877	-6.0	-4.0
Nondurables less food and beverages		192.361		180.323	-8.6	-6.3
Durables		101.990		100.943	-2.3	-1.0
Services		338.427		334.435	0.9	-1.2
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		233.483		229.187	-1.3	-1.8
All items less medical care		247.229		243.844	-0.3	-1.4
Commodities less food		151.736		145.882	-5.8	-3.9
Nondurables		218.137		214.557	-2.0	-1.6
Nondurables less food		194.558		183.075	-8.1	-5.9
Services less rent of shelter(2)		345.203		337.546	-0.6	-2.2
Services less medical care services		322.199		318.142	0.6	-1.3
Energy		191.830	186.286	175.098	-16.1	-8.7	-6.0
All items less energy		269.093		266.930	1.2	-0.8
All items less food and energy		276.314		272.608	0.6	-1.3
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base (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.