Prices in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.4 percent for the two months ending in January 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that the food index increased 0.7 percent, and the energy index rose 7.8 percent from November to January. The all items less food and energy index declined 0.1 percent over the past two months. Among the indexes within the all items less food and energy category, prices were lower for household furnishings and operations and recreation.  (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 1.6 percent. (See table A.) The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.6 percent over the year. Food prices increased 3.5 percent. Energy prices declined 3.6 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 0.7 percent for the two months ending in January. Prices for food at home (groceries) increased 1.7 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) decreased 0.6 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 3.5 percent. Prices for food at home increased 3.6 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home increased 3.4 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 7.8 percent for the two months ending in January. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (16.7 percent). Prices for utility (piped) gas service decreased 0.9 percent, and prices for electricity decreased 1.0 percent for the same period.

Energy prices declined 3.6 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-9.3 percent). Prices paid for utility (piped) gas service rose 5.0 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 2.0 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy declined 0.1 percent in the latest two-month period. Lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-3.8 percent) and recreation (-1.2 percent) were partially offset by higher prices for shelter (0.4 percent) and education and communication (1.0 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.6 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (1.6 percent) and medical care (3.6 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in recreation (-1.6 percent).

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		2021
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
January	0.3		0.4	1.4	0.6	3.0	0.4	1.6
March	0.5		1.4	2.3	-0.3	1.2
May	1.0		1.0	2.3	-0.1	0.0
July	0.3		0.3	2.2	-0.1	-0.3
September	0.3		-0.2	1.7	2.1	1.9
November	-1.2	1.3	-0.2	2.8	-0.4	1.7

The March 2021 Consumer Price Index for Minneapolis is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, April 13, 2021.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measures 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 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 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.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Nov. 2020	Dec. 2020	Jan. 2021	Jan. 2020	Nov. 2020	Dec. 2020
Expenditure category
All items	255.362	-	256.379	1.6	0.4	-
All items (1967=100)	802.482	-	805.679	-	-	-
Food and beverages	294.407	-	296.741	3.4	0.8	-
Food	283.121	-	285.124	3.5	0.7	-
Food at home	251.277	250.708	255.581	3.6	1.7	1.9
Cereals and bakery products	266.374	-	270.449	2.0	1.5	-
Meats, poultry, fish and eggs	277.364	-	282.637	5.7	1.9	-
Dairy and related products	273.475	-	279.334	0.3	2.1	-
Fruits and vegetables	345.288	-	346.251	3.8	0.3	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	157.567	-	159.630	0.1	1.3	-
Other food at home	199.620	-	204.869	5.2	2.6	-
Food away from home	329.436	-	327.304	3.4	-0.6	-
Alcoholic beverages	391.679	-	398.303	2.5	1.7	-
Housing	245.966	-	245.447	2.0	-0.2	-
Shelter	290.412	290.298	291.475	1.6	0.4	0.4
Rent of primary residence(2)	301.284	301.040	301.674	2.5	0.1	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	308.845	309.620	311.020	3.6	0.7	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)(3)	308.845	309.620	311.020	3.6	0.7	0.5
Fuels and utilities	212.298	-	213.209	3.6	0.4	-
Household energy	187.157	187.295	187.060	3.5	-0.1	-0.1
Energy services(2)	190.325	190.218	188.477	3.0	-1.0	-0.9
Electricity(2)	258.169	255.229	255.619	2.0	-1.0	0.2
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	132.268	134.845	131.024	5.0	-0.9	-2.8
Household furnishings and operations	130.983	-	126.054	3.4	-3.8	-
Apparel	136.547	-	138.724	3.9	1.6	-
Transportation	189.120	-	192.870	-2.6	2.0	-
Private transportation	179.004	-	183.543	0.3	2.5	-
New and used motor vehicles(4)	94.833	-	92.919	3.7	-2.0	-
New vehicles(1)	158.335	-	160.020	4.7	1.1	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	302.613	-	296.939	11.3	-1.9	-
Motor fuel	157.126	166.272	182.945	-9.3	16.4	10.0
Gasoline (all types)	157.067	166.190	183.280	-9.3	16.7	10.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular(5)	156.385	166.142	183.725	-9.1	17.5	10.6
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(5)(6)	165.055	166.491	183.861	-11.8	11.4	10.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium(5)	206.742	210.854	225.126	-11.4	8.9	6.8
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	491.546	-	502.358	6.9	2.2	-
Medical care	588.623	-	590.900	3.6	0.4	-
Recreation(4)	133.251	-	131.674	-1.6	-1.2	-
Education and communication(4)	138.615	-	140.034	2.1	1.0	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,127.579	-	1,131.870	3.9	0.4	-
Other goods and services	396.600	-	400.953	2.8	1.1	-
Commodity and service group
All items	255.362	-	256.379	1.6	0.4	-
Commodities	189.047	-	191.326	2.1	1.2	-
Commodities less food and beverages	143.748	-	145.848	1.4	1.5	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	183.365	-	190.753	0.3	4.0	-
Durables	108.549	-	106.920	2.7	-1.5	-
Services	314.462	-	314.256	1.2	-0.1	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	240.391	-	241.351	1.4	0.4	-
All items less shelter	241.403	-	242.405	1.5	0.4	-
Commodities less food	152.258	-	154.499	1.4	1.5	-
Nondurables	234.526	-	239.913	1.9	2.3	-
Nondurables less food	196.820	-	204.333	0.5	3.8	-
Services less rent of shelter(3)	355.056	-	352.974	0.8	-0.6	-
Services less medical care services	289.597	-	289.263	0.8	-0.1	-
Energy	173.827	178.737	187.453	-3.6	7.8	4.9
All items less energy	266.943	-	266.990	1.9	0.0	-
All items less food and energy	264.643	-	264.408	1.6	-0.1	-
Footnotes (1) Index on an April 1978=100 base. (2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (3) Index on a December 1982=100 base. (4) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (5) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (6) Index on a December 1993=100 base.
- Data not available. Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.