Prices in the Midwest Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.4 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The August increase was influenced by higher prices within the index for all items less food and energy. (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 advanced 1.1 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.9 percent over the year and food prices rose 3.0 percent. In contrast energy prices fell 10.7 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices declined 0.3 percent for the month of August. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home decreased 0.7 percent, while prices for food away from home advanced 0.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 3.0 percent. Prices for food at home increased 3.4 percent since a year ago and prices for food away from home advanced 2.5 percent.

Energy

The energy index edged down 0.2 percent over the month. The decrease was due to lower prices for gasoline (-1.0 percent). Prices for natural gas service rose 1.7 percent, and prices for electricity were virtually unchanged (0.1 percent) for the same period.

Energy prices fell 10.7 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-19.2 percent). Prices paid for electricity declined 1.3 percent and prices for natural gas service decreased 1.6 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.6 percent in August. Higher prices for used cars and trucks (5.9 percent) and shelter (0.2 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for other goods and services (-0.7 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.9 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (2.3 percent) and medical care services (5.3 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in apparel (-7.7 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	0.3	-0.4
June	1.0	0.8	0.0	0.9	0.7	2.5	0.3	1.2	0.8	0.4
July	0.1	0.4	0.1	1.3	0.1	2.4	0.2	1.5	0.5	0.7
August	-0.3	0.6	0.3	1.5	-0.1	2.1	0.2	1.5	0.4	1.1
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 September 2020 Consumer Price Index for the Midwest Region is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, October 13, 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
	Jun. 2020	Jul. 2020	Aug. 2020	Aug. 2019	Jun. 2020	Jul. 2020
All items	239.259	240.430	241.362	1.1	0.9	0.4
All items (December 1977 = 100)	389.287	391.193	392.710
Food and beverages	256.156	255.651	254.994	2.9	-0.5	-0.3
Food	255.935	255.251	254.488	3.0	-0.6	-0.3
Food at home	238.991	236.510	234.738	3.4	-1.8	-0.7
Cereals and bakery products	263.866	263.315	262.515	2.3	-0.5	-0.3
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	284.075	270.371	262.086	5.7	-7.7	-3.1
Dairy and related products	205.087	205.139	208.633	6.1	1.7	1.7
Fruits and vegetables	270.590	270.542	271.670	0.6	0.4	0.4
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	168.144	168.582	166.247	2.1	-1.1	-1.4
Other food at home	204.792	205.355	204.547	3.3	-0.1	-0.4
Food away from home	284.520	286.524	287.265	2.5	1.0	0.3
Alcoholic beverages	257.467	259.202	259.869	1.9	0.9	0.3
Housing	237.990	238.178	238.822	2.0	0.3	0.3
Shelter	286.137	286.463	287.179	2.3	0.4	0.2
Rent of primary residence(1)	287.804	288.153	288.963	3.4	0.4	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)(2)	292.443	292.860	293.867	3.0	0.5	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)(2)	292.368	292.780	293.789	3.0	0.5	0.3
Fuels and utilities	224.767	224.181	225.260	-0.5	0.2	0.5
Household energy	180.265	179.607	180.476	-1.7	0.1	0.5
Energy services(1)	187.706	187.152	188.155	-1.4	0.2	0.5
Electricity(1)	211.431	212.409	212.582	-1.3	0.5	0.1
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	137.785	134.840	137.092	-1.6	-0.5	1.7
Household furnishings and operations	117.208	117.419	117.653	2.0	0.4	0.2
Apparel	105.982	106.074	107.366	-7.7	1.3	1.2
Transportation	189.894	195.695	198.115	-3.4	4.3	1.2
Private transportation	187.562	193.504	195.883	-2.3	4.4	1.2
New and used motor vehicles(3)	97.565	99.656	101.697	3.0	4.2	2.0
New vehicles	138.803	140.327	139.697	1.9	0.6	-0.4
New cars and trucks(3)(4)	98.126	99.192	98.745	1.9	0.6	-0.5
New cars(4)	136.532	139.099	138.616	4.0	1.5	-0.3
Used cars and trucks	135.976	141.128	149.390	4.2	9.9	5.9
Motor fuel	187.467	194.554	192.626	-19.2	2.8	-1.0
Gasoline (all types)	186.295	193.576	191.645	-19.2	2.9	-1.0
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	180.505	187.675	185.785	-19.5	2.9	-1.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	222.849	230.053	227.404	-16.9	2.0	-1.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	214.002	221.246	219.246	-16.5	2.5	-0.9
Motor vehicle insurance(6)	661.029	735.087	746.387	2.0	12.9	1.5
Medical care	517.940	519.089	521.898	4.3	0.8	0.5
Medical care commodities	382.917	383.436	390.020	-0.1	1.9	1.7
Medical care services	563.012	564.365	565.988	5.3	0.5	0.3
Professional services	428.816	429.462	429.448	1.9	0.1	0.0
Recreation(3)	123.040	121.476	122.053	0.7	-0.8	0.5
Education and communication(3)	139.006	140.550	141.137	2.7	1.5	0.4
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)	1,203.348	1,207.969	1,212.665	1.0	0.8	0.4
Other goods and services	447.885	446.854	443.845	1.7	-0.9	-0.7
Commodity and service group
Commodities	177.371	178.516	179.274	-0.6	1.1	0.4
Commodities less food and beverages	140.840	142.530	143.765	-2.8	2.1	0.9
Nondurables less food and beverages	179.304	181.492	181.997	-7.2	1.5	0.3
Durables	101.808	103.008	104.535	2.3	2.7	1.5
Services	303.312	304.487	305.595	2.2	0.8	0.4
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	224.930	226.387	227.396	0.5	1.1	0.4
All items less medical care	226.046	227.220	228.063	0.7	0.9	0.4
Commodities less food	144.385	146.082	147.306	-2.6	2.0	0.8
Nondurables	216.663	217.579	217.533	-1.9	0.4	0.0
Nondurables less food	183.633	185.786	186.299	-6.5	1.5	0.3
Services less rent of shelter(2)	330.832	332.955	334.528	2.0	1.1	0.5
Services less medical care services	283.866	285.032	286.104	1.7	0.8	0.4
Energy	183.717	186.542	186.154	-10.7	1.3	-0.2
All items less energy	247.634	248.668	249.736	2.0	0.8	0.4
All items less food and energy	246.892	248.233	249.628	1.9	1.1	0.6
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.