The March Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Midwest was virtually unchanged, edging up a slight 0.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Energy costs rose 0.6 percent over the month led by higher prices for gasoline (2.2 percent). Food prices were essentially unchanged (0.1 percent). Prices for all items less food and energy were unchanged in March due to offsetting movements within the index. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The CPI-U for the Midwest rose 1.9 percent from March 2016 to March 2017. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index, which includes motor fuel and household fuels, was up 9.9 percent and food prices were 0.3 percent higher. Excluding food and energy, the CPI-U advanced 1.5 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices (0.1 percent) were little changed in March. Costs for food at home rose 0.2 percent while prices for food away from home were virtually unchanged (0.1 percent) over the month.

From March 2016 to March 2017, the index for food increased 0.3 percent led by a 2.1-percent rise in costs for food away from home. Prices for food at home registered their 18^th consecutive over-the-year decrease, down 0.8 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 0.6 percent in March following a 2.3-percent decline in the prior month. Higher gasoline prices, up 2.2 percent, led the increase in the energy component. Electricity prices also contributed to the advance with an increase of 0.2 percent over the month. Conversely, costs for utility (piped) gas service were 2.6 percent lower.

Energy costs advanced 9.9 percent from March 2016 to March 2017. Gasoline prices rose 17.6 percent over the year. Costs for utility (piped) gas service increased 10.3 percent and prices for electricity were up 0.7 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy for the Midwest was unchanged in March. Higher prices for apparel (1.8 percent) had the largest upward impact while lower prices for education and communication (-1.8 percent) registered the largest offsetting movement.

The index for all items less food and energy was up 1.5 percent from March 2016 to March 2017. Higher costs for shelter (2.5 percent) and medical care (3.3 percent) led the advance.

The Midwest Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) stood at 228.824 in March 2017. A typical market basket of goods and services that cost $100.00 in the 1982-84 base period cost $228.82 in March 2017.

CPI-W

In March, the Midwest Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 222.671, up 0.1 percent over the month. The CPI-W increased 1.8 percent over the year.

Table A. Midwest region CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2013		2014		2015		2016		2017
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.1	1.3	0.5	1.4	-0.6	-0.3	0.3	0.8	0.7	2.2
February	1.1	2.2	0.6	0.9	0.3	-0.5	0.0	0.4	0.2	2.4
March	0.2	1.4	0.9	1.5	0.6	-0.9	0.6	0.5	0.1	1.9
April	-0.1	1.2	0.3	1.9	0.1	-1.1	0.4	0.8
May	0.5	1.8	0.2	1.6	0.4	-0.8	0.4	0.8
June	0.3	2.2	0.5	1.7	0.5	-0.7	0.6	0.8
July	-0.4	1.8	-0.3	1.8	0.0	-0.5	-0.5	0.4
August	0.1	1.2	-0.2	1.6	0.0	-0.3	0.1	0.6
September	0.1	1.0	0.1	1.6	-0.3	-0.8	0.2	1.1
October	-0.5	0.8	-0.5	1.6	-0.1	-0.3	-0.1	1.0
November	-0.2	1.0	-0.6	1.2	-0.5	-0.2	-0.3	1.2
December	-0.2	1.0	-0.7	0.7	-0.6	0.0	0.1	1.8

The April 2017 Consumer Price Index for the Midwest region is scheduled to be released on Friday, May 12, 2017.

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 89 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 28 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 6,000 housing units and approximately 24,000 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/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 areas; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period.

The Midwest region is comprised of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

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