The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Baltimore-Columbia-Towson inched up 0.1 percent from October to December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Sheila Watkins noted that the recent two-month increase was due to increases in both the all items less food and energy index (0.1 percent) and food index (0.6 percent).  The energy index declined since October, down 0.9 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 increased 1.8 percent. The over-the-year rise was due almost entirely to an increase in the all items less food and energy index (1.9 percent). The energy index and food index also rose over the year, up 2.0 and 1.1 percent, respectively. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index advanced 0.6 percent over the last two months. Prices increased for food away from home, up 0.7 percent, and food at home, up 0.4 percent. Within the food at home component, prices were higher for chicken and eggs, while prices were lower for nonfrozen noncarbonated juices and drinks.

Over the year, the food index increased 1.1 percent. Prices rose for food away from home (2.9 percent) while those for food at home declined (-0.4 percent).

Energy

The energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, decreased 0.9 percent since October. Prices were lower over the last two months for electricity (-2.1 percent); prices for gasoline and utility (piped) gas service also decreased, down 0.2 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.

Over the year, the energy index rose 2.0 percent. Prices were higher for gasoline, up 9.7 percent, while prices decreased for electricity (-5.6 percent) and utility (piped) gas service (-3.1 percent) since December 2018.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy inched up 0.1 percent from October to December. Higher prices for new and used motor vehicles (2.9 percent) and education and communication (0.9 percent) were moderated by lower prices for medical care (-3.7 percent), among others.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.9 percent since December 2018, led by higher prices for medical care (8.8 percent) and recreation (5.4 percent). Prices were lower for apparel (-6.6 percent), among others.

The Consumer Price Index for February 2020 is scheduled to be released Wednesday, March 11, 2020 at 8:30 am (ET).

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index for Baltimore-Columbia-Towson 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 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, Core Based Statistical Area includes Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Baltimore City, Carroll, Harford, Howard, and Queen Anne’s Counties in Maryland.

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