Gasoline prices averaged $1.906 a gallon in the Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint area in January 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Charlene Peiffer noted that area gasoline prices were down 4.9 cents compared to last January when they averaged $1.955 per gallon. Detroit area households paid an average of 15.6 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in January 2016, more than the 14.3 cents per kWh paid in January 2015. The average cost of utility (piped) gas, at 76.6 cents (R) per therm in January, was down from 92.0 cents per therm a year earlier. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)

At $1.906 a gallon, costs for gasoline in the Detroit area were 12.8 cents lower than the national average of $2.034 a gallon in January 2016. In January 2015, Detroit area gasoline prices were 21.5 cents lower than the national average; however, prices were closer the U.S. average in the previous three years (2012-2014) in January.  (See chart 1.)

The 15.6 cents per kWh that Detroit households paid for electricity in January 2016 was 16.4 percent higher than the nationwide average cost of 13.4 cents per kWh. In January 2015, Detroit area electricity costs were comparable to the national average; however, prices exceeded the national average by 10.4 percent or more in the previous three years (2012-2014) in January. (See chart 2.)

Prices paid by Detroit area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were 76.6 cents (R) per therm in January 2016, 14.7 percent (R) below the national average of 89.8 cents per therm. Utility (piped) gas costs in Detroit were also lower than the national average in the prior four years (2012-2015) in January, ranging from 6.0 percent to 16.7 percent less. (See chart 3.)

The Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, Mich. consolidated area covered in this release is comprised of Genesee, Lapeer, Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw, and Wayne Counties in Michigan.

Historical average energy prices for the U.S. and select metropolitan areas are available at www.bls.gov/regions/midwest/data/averageenergyprices_selectedareas_table.htm.

The Consumer Price Index for February 2016 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, March 16, 2016.

Technical Note

Average prices are estimated from Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for selected commodity series to support the research and analytic needs of CPI data users. Average prices for electricity, utility (piped) gas, and gasoline are published monthly for the U.S. city average, the 4 regions, the 3 population size classes, 10 region/size-class cross-classifications, and the 14 largest local index areas. For electricity, average prices per kilowatt-hour (kWh) are published. For utility (piped) gas, average prices per therm are published. For gasoline, the average price per gallon is published. Average prices for commonly available grades of gasoline are published as well as the average price across all grades.

All eligible prices are converted to a price per normalized quantity. These prices are then used to estimate a price for a defined fixed quantity.  The average price per kilowatt-hour represents the total bill divided by the kilowatt-hour usage. The total bill is the sum of all items applicable to all consumers appearing on an electricity bill including, but not limited to, variable rates per kWh, fixed costs, taxes, surcharges, and credits. This calculation also applies to the average price per therm for utility (piped) gas.

Information from this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200, Federal Relay Services: 800-877-8339.

Table 1. Average prices for gasoline, electricity, and utility (piped) gas, Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint and the United States, January 2015 – January 2016, not seasonally adjusted

Year and month	Gasoline per gallon		Electricity per kWh		Utility (piped) gas per therm
	Detroit area	United States	Detroit area	United States	Detroit area	United States
2015
January	$1.955	$2.170	$0.143	$0.138	$0.920	$1.036
February	2.259	2.308	0.143	0.138	0.881	1.007
March	2.419	2.544	0.143	0.136	0.856	0.985
April	2.464	2.545	0.143	0.137	0.793	0.947
May	2.649	2.832	0.143	0.137	0.785	0.930
June	2.892	2.889	0.147	0.143	0.789	0.942
July	2.934	2.893	0.161	0.142	0.786	0.933
August	2.834	2.745	0.160	0.142	0.787	0.932
September	2.457	2.463	0.153	0.141	0.788	0.921
October	2.532	2.357	0.159	0.136	0.775	0.909
November	2.339	2.249	0.156	0.134	0.780	0.903
December	1.966	2.125	0.157	0.133	0.772	0.892
2016
January	1.906	2.034	0.156	0.134	0.766(R)	0.898

(R) Revised