The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Midwest decreased for the second month in a row, down 0.4 percent in December after declining 0.6 percent in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The December movement was led by a 12.0-percent drop in prices for gasoline. Overall, energy costs were down 4.7 percent for the month. Prices for food increased 0.2 percent and the index for all items less food and energy was unchanged for the second consecutive month. (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 1.3 percent in 2018. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index, which includes motor fuel and household fuels, declined 4.9 percent. Food prices increased 0.8 percent. Excluding food and energy, the CPI-U was up 2.0 percent from December 2017 to December 2018. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices in the Midwest were up 0.2 percent in December led by higher prices for food away from home (0.3 percent). Prices for food at home were little changed (0.1 percent).

From December 2017 to December 2018, the index for food rose 0.8 percent. Prices for food away from home were up 2.5 percent and were responsible for the increase. Prices for food at home were 0.4 percent lower over the year.

Energy

The energy index was down 4.7 percent in December after declining 7.0 percent in the prior month. A 12.0-percent drop in prices for gasoline led the December decline. In November, gasoline prices fell 10.5 percent. Utility (piped) gas service costs registered their largest increase since March 2014, jumping 11.3 percent in December 2018. Electricity prices turned up 0.2 percent after decreasing in each of the three prior months.

Energy costs were down 4.9 percent in 2018. Prices for gasoline declined 10.2 percent from December 2017 to December 2018. Electricity prices were down 0.9 percent, but costs for utility (piped) gas service were 4.0 percent higher than a year ago.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy for the Midwest was unchanged for the second month in a row. Among the expenditure categories registering higher costs were new and used motor vehicles (0.9 percent) and recreation (0.6 percent), while prices for apparel (-3.7 percent) were among those that declined over the month.  

The index for all items less food and energy was up 2.0 percent from December 2017 to December 2018. Higher costs for shelter (3.4 percent) contributed to the increase.

The Midwest Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) stood at 233.458 in December 2018. A typical market basket of goods and services that cost $100.00 in the 1982-84 base period cost $233.46 in December 2018.

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	0.1	1.9
October	-0.5	1.6	-0.1	-0.3	-0.1	1.0	-0.2	1.5	0.1	2.2
November	-0.6	1.2	-0.5	-0.2	-0.3	1.2	0.2	1.9	-0.6	1.4
December	-0.7	0.7	-0.6	0.0	0.1	1.8	-0.2	1.7	-0.4	1.3

CPI-W

In December, the Midwest Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 227.025. The CPI-W declined 0.6 percent in December and rose 1.1 percent over the year.

The January 2019 Consumer Price Index for the Midwest region is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, February 13, 2019.

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.

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.