The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Midwest turned up 0.2 percent in January after declining in November and December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The January movement was influenced by higher prices for shelter, medical care services, and food at home. Lower prices for gasoline helped to moderate the advance. Overall, energy costs were down 2.8 percent, but prices for food increased 0.6 percent. The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.4 percent after recording no change in the prior two months. (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 0.8 percent over the latest 12 months. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index, which includes motor fuel and household fuels, declined 10.0 percent. Food prices increased 1.0 percent. The index for all items less food and energy was up 1.9 percent from January 2018 to January 2019. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices in the Midwest were up 0.6 percent in January led by higher prices for food at home (0.8 percent). Prices for food away from home rose 0.2 percent.

From January 2018 to January 2019, the index for food advanced 1.0 percent. Costs for food away from home were up 2.5 percent and were responsible for the increase. Prices for food at home were 0.2 percent lower over the year.

Energy

The energy index declined for the fourth month in a row, down 2.8 percent in January led by a 5.4-percent drop in prices for gasoline. Also contributing to the monthly decline, utility (piped) gas service costs were down 3.0 percent after rising 11.3 percent in the prior month. Electricity prices were up 1.0 percent in January.

Energy costs decreased 10.0 percent since January 2018 largely due to a decline of 19.1 percent in prices for gasoline. Electricity prices were down 1.2 percent, but costs for utility (piped) gas service were 2.4 percent higher than a year ago.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy for the Midwest increased 0.4 percent after registering no change in each of the prior two months. Among the expenditure categories registering higher costs were medical care services (1.0 percent) and shelter (0.3 percent), while prices for new vehicles (-0.5 percent) were among those that declined over the month.  

The index for all items less food and energy was up 1.9 percent from January 2018 to January 2019. Higher costs for shelter (3.3 percent) contributed to the increase.

The Midwest Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) stood at 233.837 in January 2019. A typical market basket of goods and services that cost $100.00 in the 1982-84 base period cost $233.84 in January 2019.

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

Month	2015		2016		2017		2018		2019
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	-0.6	-0.3	0.3	0.8	0.7	2.2	0.6	1.6	0.2	0.8
February	0.3	-0.5	0.0	0.4	0.2	2.4	0.2	1.7
March	0.6	-0.9	0.6	0.5	0.1	1.9	0.2	1.8
April	0.1	-1.1	0.4	0.8	0.4	1.8	0.4	1.8
May	0.4	-0.8	0.4	0.8	0.0	1.4	0.5	2.3
June	0.5	-0.7	0.6	0.8	0.0	0.9	0.2	2.5
July	0.0	-0.5	-0.5	0.4	0.0	1.3	0.0	2.4
August	0.0	-0.3	0.1	0.6	0.3	1.5	0.0	2.1
September	-0.3	-0.8	0.2	1.1	0.3	1.5	0.1	1.9
October	-0.1	-0.3	-0.1	1.0	-0.2	1.5	0.1	2.2
November	-0.5	-0.2	-0.3	1.2	0.2	1.9	-0.6	1.4
December	-0.6	0.0	0.1	1.8	-0.2	1.7	-0.4	1.3

The February 2019 Consumer Price Index for the Midwest region is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, March 12, 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.

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