The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Midwest was unchanged for the second month in a row, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Movement within the index was mixed in August, with lower prices for recreation (-1.0 percent) and higher prices for shelter (0.2 percent) among the categories with the most impact on the monthly index. Food prices were down 0.3 percent for the month and energy prices were little changed, down a slight 0.1 percent. The index for all items less food and energy was unchanged in August. (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 advanced 2.1 percent from August 2017 to August 2018. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index, which includes motor fuel and household fuels, rose 8.1 percent and food prices increased 0.7 percent. Excluding food and energy, the CPI-U was up 1.7 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices in the Midwest were 0.3 percent lower in August after registering little change (0.1 percent) in July. The decline was led by a decrease of 0.5 percent in prices for food at home. Lower prices for food away from home (-0.2 percent) also contributed to the monthly decline.

From August 2017 to August 2018, the index for food rose 0.7 percent. Prices for food away from home were up 2.2 percent and were responsible for the increase. Prices for food at home were 0.3 percent lower over the year.

Energy

The energy index was little changed (-0.1 percent) in August after turning down 0.7 percent in July. Lower prices for gasoline (-0.7 percent) had the largest impact on the energy index in August. Gasoline prices declined 0.8 percent in the prior month. Prices for utility (piped) gas service (1.6 percent) and electricity (0.3 percent) turned up in August after registering declines of 1.1 and 0.6 percent, respectively, in July. 

Energy costs advanced 8.1 percent from August 2017 to August 2018 due largely to an increase of 19.4 percent in prices for gasoline. Costs for electricity and utility (piped) gas service were lower than in August 2017, decreasing 2.9 and 2.8 percent, respectively, over the year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy for the Midwest was unchanged for the third consecutive month. Among the expenditure categories registering higher costs were shelter (0.2 percent), education and communication (0.3 percent) and medical care (0.2 percent). Prices for recreation (-1.0 percent) were among those that declined in August.   

The index for all items less food and energy was up 1.7 percent from August 2017 to August 2018. Higher costs for shelter (3.3 percent) led the over-the-year increase.

The Midwest Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) stood at 235.276 in August 2018. A typical market basket of goods and services that cost $100.00 in the 1982-84 base period cost $235.28 in August 2018.

CPI-W

In August, the Midwest Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 229.827. The CPI-W was unchanged in August and rose 2.4 percent over the year.

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

Month	2014		2015		2016		2017		2018
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.5	1.4	-0.6	-0.3	0.3	0.8	0.7	2.2	0.6	1.6
February	0.6	0.9	0.3	-0.5	0.0	0.4	0.2	2.4	0.2	1.7
March	0.9	1.5	0.6	-0.9	0.6	0.5	0.1	1.9	0.2	1.8
April	0.3	1.9	0.1	-1.1	0.4	0.8	0.4	1.8	0.4	1.8
May	0.2	1.6	0.4	-0.8	0.4	0.8	0.0	1.4	0.5	2.3
June	0.5	1.7	0.5	-0.7	0.6	0.8	0.0	0.9	0.2	2.5
July	-0.3	1.8	0.0	-0.5	-0.5	0.4	0.0	1.3	0.0	2.4
August	-0.2	1.6	0.0	-0.3	0.1	0.6	0.3	1.5	0.0	2.1
September	0.1	1.6	-0.3	-0.8	0.2	1.1	0.3	1.5
October	-0.5	1.6	-0.1	-0.3	-0.1	1.0	-0.2	1.5
November	-0.6	1.2	-0.5	-0.2	-0.3	1.2	0.2	1.9
December	-0.7	0.7	-0.6	0.0	0.1	1.8	-0.2	1.7

The September 2018 Consumer Price Index for the Midwest region is scheduled to be released on Thursday, October 11, 2018.

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

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