The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington area decreased 0.3 percent from January to March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that the food index rose 0.7 percent, and the energy index was down 8.2 percent over the bi-monthly period. The index for all items less food and energy was unchanged from January to March. Among the indexes within the all items less food and energy category, prices were lower for household furnishings and operations and new and used motor vehicles, but were higher for shelter and recreation. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the past 12 months, the Minneapolis all items CPI-U increased 1.2 percent. (See table A.) The food index rose 2.0 percent while the energy index decreased 11.5 percent from March 2019 to March 2020. The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.0 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.7 percent from January to March. Of the two components within the food index, prices for food at home (groceries) rose 1.1 percent while prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) edged up 0.1 percent, over the bi-monthly period.

Over the year, food prices in the Minneapolis area were up 2.0 percent. Prices for groceries rose 0.3 percent, while food away from home prices rose 3.9 percent from March 2019.

Energy

The energy index for Minneapolis fell 8.2 percent from January to March. Among the index’s components, prices were lower for gasoline (-12.4 percent) and utility (piped) gas service (-9.2 percent), while electricity prices were unchanged.

From March 2019 to March 2020, overall energy prices decreased 11.5 percent. Over the year, the gasoline index and utility (piped) gas service indexes fell 15.4 percent and 12.1 percent respectively, while the electricity index declined 5.1 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy was unchanged from January to March. Among the index’s components, prices were lower for household furnishings and operations (-1.2 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (-0.7 percent), but were higher for shelter (0.9 percent) and recreation (1.7 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 2.0 percent. Increases in the indexes for shelter (4.5 percent), medical care (3.0 percent), and recreation (4.4 percent) were contributing factors.

Table A. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2018		2019		2020
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
January	0.3		0.4	1.4	0.6	3.0
March	0.5		1.4	2.3	-0.3	1.2
May	1.0		1.0	2.3
July	0.3		0.3	2.2
September	0.3		-0.2	1.7
November	-1.2	1.3	-0.2	2.8

The May 2020 Consumer Price Index for Minneapolis is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 10, 2020.

Technical Note

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 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 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI, Core Based Statistical Area covered in this release is comprised of Anoka, Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin, Isanti, LeSueur, Mille Lacs, Ramsey, Scott, Sherburne, Sibley, Washington, and Wright Counties in Minnesota; and Pierce and St. Croix Counties in Wisconsin.

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.