Prices in the Northeast Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased by 0.5 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the August increase was primarily due to a 0.3-percent rise in the all items less food and energy index and a 3.0-percent increase in the energy index. The food index rose 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 index increased 2.8 percent. The August increase was mainly due to a 3.7-percent rise in the all items less food and energy index which was led by increases within the shelter index. (See chart 1 and table A.) This is the sixth consecutive month that the 12-month change in the all items index has been lower than the all items less food and energy index. The food index continued moderating, rising 4.0 percent, while the energy index decreased 8.3 percent, trending down for the sixth consecutive month. (See table 1.)

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Northeast region, August 2020–August 2023

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Aug 2020	1.1	1.6
Sep 2020	1.2	1.5
Oct 2020	1.1	1.5
Nov 2020	1.1	1.5
Dec 2020	1.4	1.6
Jan 2021	1.1	1.1
Feb 2021	1.2	0.8
Mar 2021	2.1	1.3
Apr 2021	3.3	2.5
May 2021	3.9	3.0
Jun 2021	4.6	3.9
Jul 2021	4.3	3.5
Aug 2021	4.4	3.2
Sep 2021	4.6	3.2
Oct 2021	5.4	3.7
Nov 2021	6.0	4.1
Dec 2021	5.9	4.3
Jan 2022	6.3	4.6
Feb 2022	6.6	5.0
Mar 2022	7.3	5.0
Apr 2022	7.2	4.9
May 2022	7.5	4.6
Jun 2022	7.6	4.4
Jul 2022	7.3	4.3
Aug 2022	7.4	5.0
Sep 2022	7.2	5.4
Oct 2022	6.9	5.2
Nov 2022	6.4	4.7
Dec 2022	6.1	4.8
Jan 2023	6.0	4.9
Feb 2023	5.9	5.1
Mar 2023	4.3	4.5
Apr 2023	3.8	4.2
May 2023	3.1	4.3
Jun 2023	2.2	3.8
Jul 2023	2.6	4.0
Aug 2023	2.8	3.7

In August, the food index was up 0.1 percent as prices for food away from home rose 0.6 percent. (See table 1.) The food at home index declined over the month (down 0.1 percent) as most of the grocery categories decreased. The indexes that declined included fruits and vegetables (down 1.1 percent), dairy and related products (down 1.4 percent), other food at home (down 0.2 percent) and cereals and bakery products (down 0.1 percent). The only categories to increase were meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (up 0.7 percent after six consecutive months of declines) and nonalcoholic food and beverages and beverage materials (up 0.8 percent).

From August 2022 to August 2023, the food index continued to moderate as it increased 4.0 percent, led by the food away from home index (up 7.0 percent, similar to last month’s 6.8-percent increase). Prices for food at home increased 2.4 percent, the lowest rise in two years. The other food at home index rose 4.0 percent, cereals and bakery products were up 5.9 percent (the smallest rise since December 2021), and nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials increased 6.2 percent (up slightly from July’s 5.9-percent increase but well below the recent peak of 13.2 percent in January). The only grocery category to decrease was meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (down 1.8 percent).

The energy index increased 3.0 percent in August, the largest increase since June 2022. The increase was driven by a 4.7-percent increase in prices for gasoline. The fuel oil index rose, along with a 0.7-percent rise in the utility (piped) gas service index—the first increase since 2023 began—and a 0.2-percent increase in the electricity index (the smallest percent change since November 2022).

Over the year, energy prices were down 8.3 percent, down for the sixth consecutive month, as most of the index components declined. Prices for gasoline decreased 9.1 percent, moderating from double-digit increases from March through July 2023. The utility (piped) gas service index was down 19.6 percent—down for the fifth month in a row and the largest decline in the index since April 2015. Fuel oil also decreased. The only energy category to rise was electricity, up 1.1 percent, the smallest price increase since May 2020.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent in August, the same as it had been for the previous four months. The August rise was mainly due to a 0.5-percent rise in the shelter index, and within shelter the owners’ equivalent rent of residences and rent of primary residence indexes were both up 0.5 percent while lodging away from home declined. The apparel index rose 2.6 percent over the month; it typically increases in August. Some categories also declined and tempered the overall increase including other goods and services (down 0.9 percent—the first decline since December 2022), public transportation, recreation (down 0.4 percent), and medical care (down 0.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy was up 3.7 percent, slightly down from the 4.0-percent increase in July. Like the monthly increase, this was primarily due to the shelter index (up 6.4 percent, similar to last month’s 6.5-percent increase) and within that the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index (up 6.6 percent and also similar to July’s increase of 6.7 percent). The rent of primary residence index also increased 6.6 percent and lodging away from home was up. The medical care index declined 3.8 percent as prices for medical care services decreased 4.9 percent; both continued to accelerate their decreases since March 2023.

Additional price indexes are available for the two divisions of the Northeast. Over the month, the all items CPI-U index for the Middle Atlantic division increased 0.5 percent. The CPI-U for the New England division increased 0.4 percent.

Over the year, the all items index rose 3.0 percent in the Middle Atlantic division and 2.3 percent in the New England division. (See table B.)

The September 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Northeast Region is scheduled to be released on October 12, 2023.

The Consumer Price Index for the Northeast Region is published 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 U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. 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, 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 6,000 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; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000.  Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods available on the internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/.

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 individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

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. 2023	Jul. 2023	Aug. 2023	Aug. 2022	Jun. 2023	Jul. 2023
All items		313.329	313.952	315.441	2.8	0.7	0.5
All items (December 1977 = 100)		493.397	494.379	496.723
Food and beverages		322.257	323.002	323.245	4.0	0.3	0.1
Food		324.353	325.081	325.432	4.0	0.3	0.1
Food at home		305.456	306.205	305.792	2.4	0.1	-0.1
Cereals and bakery products		384.259	387.713	387.495	5.9	0.8	-0.1
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		305.170	303.874	306.112	-1.8	0.3	0.7
Dairy and related products		277.448	281.156	277.180	1.6	-0.1	-1.4
Fruits and vegetables		354.117	356.495	352.615	0.5	-0.4	-1.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		216.664	215.115	216.826	6.2	0.1	0.8
Other food at home		279.273	279.691	279.270	4.0	0.0	-0.2
Food away from home		356.600	357.255	359.368	7.0	0.8	0.6
Alcoholic beverages		293.314	294.274	293.065	3.8	-0.1	-0.4
Housing		334.730	335.321	337.346	4.6	0.8	0.6
Shelter		410.022	411.594	413.698	6.4	0.9	0.5
Rent of primary residence		412.417	414.384	416.497	6.6	1.0	0.5
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)		423.569	426.355	428.680	6.6	1.2	0.5
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)		423.216	425.968	428.290	6.6	1.2	0.5
Fuels and utilities		288.416	284.664	288.771	-5.2	0.1	1.4
Household energy		256.967	252.760	257.022	-7.2	0.0	1.7
Energy services		254.752	248.947	249.752	-6.1	-2.0	0.3
Electricity		271.488	263.933	264.393	1.1	-2.6	0.2
Utility (piped) gas service		205.164	203.018	204.401	-19.6	-0.4	0.7
Household furnishings and operations		143.507	143.680	144.347	2.5	0.6	0.5
Apparel		133.940	132.144	135.581	3.1	1.2	2.6
Transportation		260.265	261.486	264.568	1.2	1.7	1.2
Private transportation		258.252	261.015	264.688	1.8	2.5	1.4
New and used motor vehicles(2)		128.290	129.791	129.859	1.4	1.2	0.1
New vehicles		174.870	175.216	175.463	3.4	0.3	0.1
New cars(3)		165.738	165.736	165.847	3.2	0.1	0.1
Used cars and trucks		213.212	212.904	209.769	-6.7	-1.6	-1.5
Motor fuel		304.743	307.015	321.648	-9.5	5.5	4.8
Gasoline (all types)		304.270	306.693	321.226	-9.1	5.6	4.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)		299.758	302.193	316.923	-9.3	5.7	4.9
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)		329.283	331.346	345.465	-9.1	4.9	4.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)		323.896	326.210	339.051	-7.7	4.7	3.9
Medical care		558.956	559.936	558.709	-3.8	0.0	-0.2
Medical care commodities		401.499	402.552	401.465	2.3	0.0	-0.3
Medical care services		605.115	606.070	604.804	-4.9	-0.1	-0.2
Professional services		430.825	434.158	434.702	1.1	0.9	0.1
Recreation(2)		139.861	140.109	139.616	1.7	-0.2	-0.4
Education and communication(2)		154.150	154.643	154.896	1.3	0.5	0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)		1,384.655	1,398.129	1,405.852	3.3	1.5	0.6
Other goods and services		593.151	594.572	589.401	5.0	-0.6	-0.9
Commodity and service group
Commodities		228.426	228.467	230.106	0.6	0.7	0.7
Commodities less food and beverages		179.300	179.052	181.180	-1.6	1.0	1.2
Nondurables less food and beverages		228.112	227.978	233.594	-1.8	2.4	2.5
Durables		124.289	124.000	123.602	-1.4	-0.6	-0.3
Services		394.909	396.085	397.440	4.1	0.6	0.3
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		279.837	280.106	281.376	1.0	0.5	0.5
All items less medical care		302.544	303.152	304.768	3.4	0.7	0.5
Commodities less food		183.505	183.289	185.339	-1.4	1.0	1.1
Nondurables		274.619	274.916	277.912	1.4	1.2	1.1
Nondurables less food		231.927	231.861	237.051	-1.4	2.2	2.2
Services less rent of shelter(1)		391.254	391.995	392.506	1.5	0.3	0.1
Services less medical care services		380.415	381.607	383.146	5.2	0.7	0.4
Energy		276.781	275.009	283.238	-8.3	2.3	3.0
All items less energy		320.615	321.454	322.378	3.8	0.5	0.3
All items less food and energy		321.993	322.857	323.888	3.7	0.6	0.3
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.