Prices in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), declined 0.4 percent for the two months ending in November 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that the September-November decrease was attributed to a decline in the energy index. The food index and the index for all items less food and energy were higher over the two-month period. Within the all items less food and energy category, prices were higher over the past two months for shelter, recreation, and medical care. However, prices were lower for apparel, household furnishings and operations, and education and communication. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 2.8 percent.  (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.7 percent over the year. Food prices rose 1.6 percent. Energy prices decreased 6.6 percent, largely the result of a drop in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI, November 2020–November 2023

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Nov 2020	1.7	2.4
Jan 2021	1.6	1.6
Mar 2021	3.0	2.0
May 2021	4.6	3.6
Jul 2021	6.5	5.6
Sep 2021	5.4	3.7
Nov 2021	6.9	5.0
Jan 2022	7.2	5.7
Mar 2022	8.2	6.6
May 2022	8.7	5.8
Jul 2022	8.2	5.0
Sep 2022	7.4	5.3
Nov 2022	5.3	3.7
Jan 2023	5.1	3.8
Mar 2023	3.4	3.0
May 2023	1.8	2.4
Jul 2023	1.0	2.4
Sep 2023	2.2	3.2
Nov 2023	2.8	3.7

Food prices rose 0.2 percent for the two months ending in November. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home (groceries) fell 0.2 percent, and food prices away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) rose 0.8 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 1.6 percent. Prices for food at home increased 0.5 percent since a year ago. Three of the six major grocery store food group indexes were higher over the year. The index for other food at home (including sugar, sweets, fats, and oils, for example) was up 4.9 percent, the index for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials was up 2.9 percent, and the index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs was up 0.5 percent. The index for dairy and related products was down 7.1 percent, and the index for fruits and vegetables fell 3.2 percent, while the index for cereal and bakery products was unchanged over the year. Food prices away from home were up 3.6 percent.

The energy index decreased 11.8 percent for the two months ending in November. The decrease was mainly due to lower gasoline prices (-16.1 percent). Electricity prices declined 7.1 percent, and utility (piped) gas service prices fell 7.3 percent for the same period.

Energy prices decreased 6.6 percent over the year, largely due to lower gasoline prices (-8.3 percent). Electricity prices increased 2.4 percent, while utility (piped) gas service prices decreased 20.9 percent during the past year.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for shelter (+0.8 percent), recreation (+3.4 percent), and medical care (+0.6 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for apparel (-6.3 percent), household furnishings and operations (-1.4 percent), and education and communication (-1.0 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.7 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (+6.0 percent) and recreation (+4.3 percent).

The January 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington area is scheduled to be released on February 13, 2024.

The Consumer Price Index for Minneapolis 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 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 87 urban areas across the country from about 4,000 housing units and approximately 26,000 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/homch17_a.htm.

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 consists of Anoka, Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin, Isanti, Le Sueur, Mille Lacs, Ramsey, Scott, Sherburne, Sibley, Washington, and Wright Counties in Minnesota; and Pierce and St. Croix Counties in Wisconsin.

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