Prices in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased by 2.0 percent for the 2 months ending in February 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that this rise was a turn from December’s 0.4-percent decline. The all items less food and energy index, up 2.2 percent, led the increase. The food index also advanced whereas the energy index reported a decline. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The CPI-U was up 6.9 percent over the year and the index for all items less food and energy was again mainly responsible, up 6.3 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The pace of increase for food prices continued to moderate, up 10.9 percent following last year’s 13.1-percent peak in October. The energy price index increase of 6.6 percent over the year was the lowest since February 2021 and well below the peak of 46.0 percent in June 2022. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose by 1.9 percent for the 2 months ending in February, with increases in the food at home index (2.8 percent) and food away from home index (0.4 percent). The food at home index saw increases in all categories, led by the 9.2-percent price advance for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials—the highest 2-month rise in that index since its inception in 2018. Prices for other food at home (up 2.9 percent) and for meats, poultry, fish and eggs (up 2.2 percent), increased after declines in December. Among the rest of the grocery categories, the fruits and vegetables index advanced 1.7 percent, the dairy and related products index rose by 1.1 percent, and prices for cereals and bakery products increased 0.3 percent after declining in December.

Over the year, food prices rose 10.9 percent as prices moderated from recent peaks for both food at home (up 13.3 percent) and food away from home (up 7.2 percent). All major grocery categories were up over the year although they were also lower than peaks posted in the last year. Increases for other food at home (21.2 percent) and cereals and bakery products (14.8 percent) led the grocery increase while prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs were up 8.6 percent, the smallest increase since December 2020.

Energy

The energy index recorded its fourth consecutive bi-monthly decline, as prices fell 0.1 percent for the 2 months ending in February. The bi-monthly decrease was mainly due to continuing lower prices for gasoline (-2.1 percent) and for fuel oil. Offsetting the decrease, the electricity index rose 1.9 percent and the utility (piped) gas index advanced 1.4 percent over the 2-month period.

Energy prices increased 6.6 percent over the year, the lowest of 1-year increases since February 2021 and considerably below last June’s 46.0-percent peak. The electricity index increased 15.5 percent—marking 14 consecutive double-digit increases that peaked at 20.5 percent—and the index for utility (piped) gas service was up 19.7 percent, the 15^th consecutive double-digit increase but well below the June peak of 44.3 percent. The gasoline index decreased 5.2 percent over the year, the first decline since December 2020; gasoline prices also peaked in June at 59.3 percent and have generally posted increasingly smaller over-the-year increases since then.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy reported a 2.2-percent rise in the latest 2-month period, the largest in nearly 33 years. The rise was led by higher prices for shelter (2.4 percent); other goods and services (12.2 percent—the highest increase since the index began in 1976); and apparel (7.6 percent). Within the shelter index, the advance was led by owners’ equivalent rent of residences (1.8 percent), followed by lodging away from home, and rent of primary residence prices were up 1.6 percent. Most other major categories in the all items less food and energy index also increased: household furnishings and operations (up 2.4 percent); education and communication (up 1.0 percent); recreation (up 0.7 percent); and medical care prices (up 0.2 percent). Partially offsetting the overall index increase were price decreases for used cars and trucks (down 3.3 percent) and public transportation.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 6.3 percent, the largest since April 2022. The recent increase was mainly driven by an 8.4-percent increase in the shelter index, the highest in over 20 years. Within shelter, the index for owners’ equivalent rent of residences advanced 7.6 percent and rent of primary residences rose 8.3 percent (the highest 12-month increase since 1985, part of general increases over the last 2 years). The household furnishings and operations index advanced 9.3 percent, rising after a low of 3.9 percent in October; and the medical care index was up 4.4 percent. The other goods and services index was up 12.2 percent over the year, the highest 12-month increase since February 1991. The new and used motor vehicles index continued to moderate, up 1.5 percent, well below the series-high of 28.8 percent in February 2022. Within that index, used cars and trucks declined 13.6 percent, the largest decline since the index began in 2018.

Table A. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2019		2020		2021		2022		2023
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	0.8	1.5	1.0	2.6	0.8	1.0	1.5	7.3	2.0	6.9
April	1.3	1.9	-1.3	-0.1	1.2	3.5	2.2	8.4
June	0.5	2.1	0.6	0.1	1.9	4.9	2.3	8.8
August	0.5	2.3	0.8	0.4	0.6	4.6	0.0	8.1
October	-0.4	1.9	0.0	0.8	1.0	5.6	0.6	7.8
December	-0.3	2.4	0.0	1.1	0.9	6.6	0.9	7.7

The April 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington area is scheduled to be released on May 10, 2023.

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 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, 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; 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, Core Based Statistical Area includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania; Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem Counties in New Jersey; New Castle County in Delaware; and Cecil County in Maryland.

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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. 2022	Jan. 2023	Feb. 2023	Feb. 2022	Dec. 2022	Jan. 2023
All items		294.883		300.882	6.9	2.0
All items (1967 = 100)		851.901		869.231
Food and beverages		287.440		292.615	10.6	1.8
Food		289.545		295.127	10.9	1.9
Food at home		295.471	300.012	303.871	13.3	2.8	1.3
Cereals and bakery products		404.342		405.657	14.8	0.3
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		332.656		339.917	8.6	2.2
Dairy and related products		233.555		236.119	12.8	1.1
Fruits and vegetables		301.357		306.456	7.5	1.7
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		187.292		204.613	10.4	9.2
Other food at home		284.725		293.002	21.2	2.9
Food away from home		273.189		274.389	7.2	0.4
Alcoholic beverages		255.210		254.253	6.3	-0.4
Housing		309.717		316.711	9.2	2.3
Shelter		376.984	380.529	386.067	8.4	2.4	1.5
Rent of primary residence		354.992	358.079	360.607	8.3	1.6	0.7
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)		387.977	391.347	395.140	7.6	1.8	1.0
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)		387.977	391.347	395.140	7.6	1.8	1.0
Fuels and utilities		274.742		277.535	14.5	1.0
Household energy		228.189	234.007	230.747	15.5	1.1	-1.4
Energy services		236.662	242.497	240.760	17.0	1.7	-0.7
Electricity		226.793	231.479	231.019	15.5	1.9	-0.2
Utility (piped) gas service		241.967	250.027	245.466	19.7	1.4	-1.8
Household furnishings and operations		141.207		144.559	9.3	2.4
Apparel		106.648		114.757	1.8	7.6
Transportation		258.192		259.514	3.1	0.5
Private transportation		266.740		268.436	2.9	0.6
New and used motor vehicles(3)		131.652		131.673	1.5	0.0
New vehicles(1)		234.789		236.151	5.7	0.6
Used cars and trucks(1)		353.884		342.296	-13.6	-3.3
Motor fuel		322.829	321.230	316.045	-5.1	-2.1	-1.6
Gasoline (all types)		318.504	316.978	311.882	-5.2	-2.1	-1.6
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		312.919	311.986	306.760	-5.9	-2.0	-1.7
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		336.620	330.834	326.411	-1.5	-3.0	-1.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		332.083	327.178	323.212	-0.1	-2.7	-1.2
Medical care		599.889		601.266	4.4	0.2
Recreation(3)		132.791		133.656	1.5	0.7
Education and communication(3)		135.062		136.400	0.7	1.0
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,108.412		1,108.412	2.6	0.0
Other goods and services		617.124		692.360	12.2	12.2
Commodity and service group
Commodities		218.012		221.654	5.2	1.7
Commodities less food and beverages		180.099		182.953	2.1	1.6
Nondurables less food and beverages		221.031		225.330	3.3	1.9
Durables		131.704		133.235	0.7	1.2
Services		372.182		380.411	7.9	2.2
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		267.827		272.665	6.1	1.8
All items less medical care		281.978		288.144	7.1	2.2
Commodities less food		183.206		185.983	2.3	1.5
Nondurables		255.266		260.028	7.1	1.9
Nondurables less food		223.264		227.277	3.6	1.8
Services less rent of shelter(2)		374.916		382.240	7.1	2.0
Services less medical care services		355.001		363.717	8.6	2.5
Energy		264.770	268.352	264.384	6.6	-0.1	-1.5
All items less energy		301.284		307.897	6.9	2.2
All items less food and energy		306.294		313.141	6.3	2.2
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.