Prices in the St. Louis area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.8 percent for the two months ending in February 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that the February increase was most influenced by higher prices for all items less food and energy. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 2.1 percent. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.8 percent over the year. Food prices rose 3.2 percent. Energy prices increased 3.0 percent, largely the result of higher prices for gasoline. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 1.3 percent for the two months ending in February. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 2.2 percent and prices for food away from home edged up 0.2 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 3.2 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 4.0 percent since a year ago and prices for food away from home rose 2.1 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 2.2 percent for the two months ending in February. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-4.4 percent). Prices for natural gas service declined 1.6 percent, while prices for electricity rose 0.6 percent for the same period.

Energy prices increased 3.0 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (5.1 percent). Prices paid for electricity advanced 2.2 percent, while prices for natural gas service decreased 3.0 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.0 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for apparel (14.9 percent) and recreation (1.9 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for new vehicles (-2.6 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.8 percent. The leading contributors to the increase included higher prices for shelter (1.9 percent) and for education and communication (7.3 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price declines in apparel (-10.1 percent).

The April 2020 Consumer Price Index for the St. Louis area is scheduled to be released on May 12, 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 St. Louis, MO-IL, area covered in this release includes Bond, Calhoun, Clinton, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison, Monroe, and St. Clair counties in Illinois; and Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, St. Charles, St. Louis, and Warren counties and St. Louis City in Missouri.

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,
St. Louis, MO-IL (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from -
	Dec. 2019	Jan. 2020	Feb. 2020	Feb. 2019	Dec. 2019	Jan. 2020
All items	231.420	-	233.374	2.1	0.8	-
All items (1967 = 100)	687.357	-	693.160
Food and beverages	262.686	-	265.988	3.7	1.3	-
Food	261.652	-	265.101	3.2	1.3	-
Food at home	237.179	239.785	242.327	4.0	2.2	1.1
Cereals and bakery products	214.124	-	214.984	0.3	0.4	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	249.685	-	246.491	-0.6	-1.3	-
Dairy and related products	169.712	-	166.582	13.8	-1.8	-
Fruits and vegetables	386.978	-	417.382	12.6	7.9	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	168.275	-	176.962	0.9	5.2	-
Other food at home	226.620	-	231.729	2.1	2.3	-
Food away from home	302.273	-	302.987	2.1	0.2	-
Alcoholic beverages	245.188	-	246.624	10.0	0.6	-
Housing	225.695	-	226.719	1.6	0.5	-
Shelter	268.672	269.422	269.899	1.9	0.5	0.2
Rent of primary residence	249.661	250.585	250.824	2.9	0.5	0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	282.201	283.127	283.438	2.2	0.4	0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	282.201	283.127	283.438	2.2	0.4	0.1
Fuels and utilities	210.400	-	210.124	1.5	-0.1	-
Household energy	178.320	177.670	177.987	0.4	-0.2	0.2
Energy services	179.921	179.289	179.656	0.4	-0.1	0.2
Electricity	177.609	178.821	178.600	2.2	0.6	-0.1
Utility (piped) gas service	151.652	147.863	149.206	-3.0	-1.6	0.9
Household furnishings and operations	119.614	-	120.798	-0.5	1.0	-
Apparel	126.304	-	145.097	-10.1	14.9	-
Transportation	189.202	-	187.695	2.8	-0.8	-
Private transportation	191.101	-	188.592	2.8	-1.3	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	92.279	-	90.738	-1.4	-1.7	-
New vehicles(1)	210.765	-	205.358	-0.9	-2.6	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	293.929	-	294.795	-1.0	0.3	-
Motor fuel	217.447	217.851	207.964	4.9	-4.4	-4.5
Gasoline (all types)	213.550	213.935	204.174	5.1	-4.4	-4.6
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	205.093	205.319	195.654	5.3	-4.6	-4.7
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	256.261	257.367	247.706	2.8	-3.3	-3.8
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	223.522	225.538	218.096	4.6	-2.4	-3.3
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	574.694	-	597.363	3.3	3.9	-
Medical care	465.883	-	468.442	1.9	0.5	-
Recreation(3)	117.855	-	120.146	2.6	1.9	-
Education and communication(3)	141.224	-	142.980	7.3	1.2	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,259.487	-	1,259.675	3.2	0.0	-
Other goods and services	330.798	-	333.447	-0.9	0.8	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	185.887	-	187.961	1.4	1.1	-
Commodities less food and beverages	148.660	-	150.190	-0.1	1.0	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	201.092	-	204.869	0.4	1.9	-
Durables	100.792	-	100.972	-0.4	0.2	-
Services	278.233	-	280.129	2.6	0.7	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	220.455	-	222.703	2.2	1.0	-
All items less medical care	219.670	-	221.588	2.1	0.9	-
Commodities less food	152.654	-	154.192	0.4	1.0	-
Nondurables	232.059	-	235.624	2.1	1.5	-
Nondurables less food	205.316	-	208.925	1.1	1.8	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	295.653	-	298.293	3.2	0.9	-
Services less medical care services	260.864	-	262.571	2.5	0.7	-
Energy	196.881	196.694	192.487	3.0	-2.2	-2.1
All items less energy	237.803	-	240.349	2.0	1.1	-
All items less food and energy	233.894	-	236.303	1.8	1.0	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on an March 1978=100 base. (2) Indexes on a November 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Index on a December 1993=100.
- Data not available.