Prices in the Midwest Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), declined 1.1 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The April decrease was strongly influenced by lower prices for gasoline. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U declined 0.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) . Energy prices fell 23.7 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. Food prices rose 3.1 percent. The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.2 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 1.2 percent for the month of April. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 2.7 percent, and prices for food away from home declined 0.7 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 3.1 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 4.3 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home increased 1.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index fell 11.7 percent over the month. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-23.8 percent). Prices for natural gas service decreased 4.0 percent, while prices for electricity inched up 0.2 percent for the same period.

Energy prices fell 23.7 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline, which dropped 42.5 percent. Prices paid for natural gas service declined 4.7 percent, and prices for electricity were virtually unchanged (-0.1 percent) during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy decreased 0.7 percent in April. Lower prices for apparel (-3.8 percent) and shelter (-0.4 percent) were partially offset by higher prices for household furnishings and operations (0.6 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.2 percent. Components contributing to the increase included medical care services (7.7 percent) and shelter (2.0 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were lower prices for motor vehicle insurance (-7.8 percent) and apparel (-4.9 percent).

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

Month	2016		2017		2018		2019		2020
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	-0.3	0.8	0.7	2.2	0.4	1.6	-0.2	0.8	0.4	2.5
February	0.2	0.4	0.8	2.4	0.9	1.7	0.9	1.3	0.3	2.1
March	0.6	0.5	0.2	1.9	0.4	1.8	1.3	1.7	-0.5	1.0
April	1.1	0.8	0.5	1.8	0.6	1.8	0.9	1.5	-1.1	-0.4
May	0.8	0.8	0.4	1.4	0.9	2.3	0.6	1.3
June	1.0	0.8	0.0	0.9	0.7	2.5	0.3	1.2
July	0.1	0.4	0.1	1.3	0.1	2.4	0.2	1.5
August	-0.3	0.6	0.3	1.5	-0.1	2.1	0.2	1.5
September	0.4	1.1	0.5	1.5	0.1	1.9	0.0	1.4
October	0.1	1.0	0.1	1.5	0.2	2.2	0.2	1.5
November	-0.4	1.2	0.0	1.9	-0.5	1.4	0.0	1.9
December	-0.2	1.8	0.0	1.7	-0.9	1.3	-0.2	2.3

The May 2020 Consumer Price Index for the Midwest Region is scheduled to be released on Wednesday June 10, 2020.

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 6,000 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.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods, Midwest Region, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)

Expenditure category	Indexes			Percent change from
	Feb. 2020	Mar. 2020	Apr. 2020	Apr. 2019	Feb. 2020	Mar. 2020
All items	240.421	239.163	236.474	-0.4	-1.6	-1.1
All items (December 1977 = 100)	391.178	389.132	384.756
Food and beverages	250.546	250.985	253.602	2.9	1.2	1.0
Food	249.998	250.385	253.291	3.1	1.3	1.2
Food at home	229.829	230.242	236.431	4.3	2.9	2.7
Cereals and bakery products	259.049	263.897	264.421	2.8	2.1	0.2
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	250.342	249.895	263.699	6.8	5.3	5.5
Dairy and related products	204.018	205.106	206.834	6.6	1.4	0.8
Fruits and vegetables	270.704	266.321	269.304	-0.1	-0.5	1.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	165.660	168.120	170.839	4.9	3.1	1.6
Other food at home	199.839	199.916	207.573	4.7	3.9	3.8
Food away from home	283.349	283.705	281.716	1.6	-0.6	-0.7
Alcoholic beverages	255.963	257.042	256.055	0.9	0.0	-0.4
Housing	236.473	236.274	235.453	1.5	-0.4	-0.3
Shelter	285.087	285.236	284.083	2.0	-0.4	-0.4
Rent of primary residence(1)	285.103	285.681	286.272	3.2	0.4	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)(2)	290.183	290.829	290.897	3.0	0.2	0.0
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)(2)	290.119	290.750	290.824	3.0	0.2	0.0
Fuels and utilities	219.893	218.073	215.939	-0.8	-1.8	-1.0
Household energy	175.612	173.522	171.241	-2.0	-2.5	-1.3
Energy services(1)	181.800	179.976	177.997	-1.6	-2.1	-1.1
Electricity(1)	197.750	197.286	197.690	-0.1	0.0	0.2
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	144.572	140.717	135.094	-4.7	-6.6	-4.0
Household furnishings and operations	116.200	115.925	116.593	0.3	0.3	0.6
Apparel	115.759	114.500	110.183	-4.9	-4.8	-3.8
Transportation	200.811	194.627	182.380	-12.2	-9.2	-6.3
Private transportation	196.078	191.397	179.598	-11.4	-8.4	-6.2
New and used motor vehicles(3)	97.548	98.056	97.694	-0.5	0.1	-0.4
New vehicles	138.832	137.827	137.771	-0.8	-0.8	0.0
New cars and trucks(3)(4)	98.139	97.425	97.386	-0.8	-0.8	0.0
New cars(4)	136.468	136.092	135.773	0.7	-0.5	-0.2
Used cars and trucks	136.400	139.694	138.418	-0.9	1.5	-0.9
Motor fuel	216.693	190.225	145.750	-41.9	-32.7	-23.4
Gasoline (all types)	215.217	188.548	143.600	-42.5	-33.3	-23.8
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	209.022	182.452	137.731	-43.4	-34.1	-24.5
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	251.190	225.738	179.633	-37.3	-28.5	-20.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	242.390	219.327	182.078	-32.9	-24.9	-17.0
Motor vehicle insurance(6)	749.097	754.488	679.858	-7.8	-9.2	-9.9
Medical care	512.813	513.815	513.998	5.4	0.2	0.0
Medical care commodities	382.459	381.749	380.061	-3.7	-0.6	-0.4
Medical care services	556.381	557.930	558.708	7.7	0.4	0.1
Professional services	425.728	426.030	426.252	1.7	0.1	0.1
Recreation(3)	123.761	123.663	123.227	1.9	-0.4	-0.4
Education and communication(3)	139.094	138.982	138.970	1.1	-0.1	0.0
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)	1,200.416	1,198.238	1,199.045	-0.1	-0.1	0.1
Other goods and services	444.148	445.981	445.297	2.9	0.3	-0.2
Commodity and service group
Commodities	179.188	177.355	174.129	-3.9	-2.8	-1.8
Commodities less food and beverages	145.262	142.690	137.496	-8.0	-5.3	-3.6
Nondurables less food and beverages	190.834	183.552	171.227	-14.2	-10.3	-6.7
Durables	101.500	102.021	101.659	-0.6	0.2	-0.4
Services	303.715	303.129	301.099	1.9	-0.9	-0.7
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	226.830	225.101	221.889	-1.5	-2.2	-1.4
All items less medical care	227.518	226.148	223.313	-1.0	-1.8	-1.3
Commodities less food	148.666	146.181	141.080	-7.7	-5.1	-3.5
Nondurables	220.085	216.446	211.180	-5.3	-4.0	-2.4
Nondurables less food	194.311	187.575	175.999	-13.1	-9.4	-6.2
Services less rent of shelter(2)	332.903	331.502	328.499	1.8	-1.3	-0.9
Services less medical care services	284.835	284.076	281.811	1.0	-1.1	-0.8
Energy	194.298	181.240	159.976	-23.7	-17.7	-11.7
All items less energy	247.941	247.758	246.750	1.5	-0.5	-0.4
All items less food and energy	248.306	248.021	246.317	1.2	-0.8	-0.7
Footnotes (1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (2) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (6) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.