Prices in the St. Louis area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.6 percent for the two months ending in August 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that the August increase was most influenced by higher prices within the index 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 advanced 0.8 percent. (See chart 1.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.8 percent over the year and food prices rose 2.6 percent. In contrast, energy prices fell 10.1 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices declined 0.7 percent for the two months ending in August. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home decreased 1.0 percent and prices for food away from home edged down 0.2 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 2.6 percent. Prices for food at home increased 6.3 percent since a year ago, while prices for food away from home declined 2.0 percent.

Energy

The energy index advanced 2.4 percent for the two months ending in August. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (5.7 percent). Prices for natural gas service also rose, up 0.9 percent, and prices for electricity were virtually unchanged (0.1 percent) for the same period.

Energy prices fell 10.1 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-21.4 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service also decreased, down 2.6 percent, and electricity prices fell 0.8 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 the latest two-month period. Higher prices for used cars and trucks (9.6 percent) and education and communication (1.8 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for other goods and services (-5.9 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.8 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (1.4 percent), education and communication (4.6 percent) and recreation (4.5 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in apparel (-8.2 percent) and other goods and services (-3.1 percent).

The October 2020 Consumer Price Index for the St. Louis area is scheduled to be released on Thursday, November 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 -
	Jun. 2020	Jul. 2020	Aug. 2020	Aug. 2019	Jun. 2020	Jul. 2020
All items	233.518	-	234.818	0.8	0.6	-
All items (1967 = 100)	693.586	-	697.448
Food and beverages	266.637	-	265.909	3.8	-0.3	-
Food	264.905	-	263.149	2.6	-0.7	-
Food at home	248.362	245.183	245.805	6.3	-1.0	0.3
Cereals and bakery products	225.792	-	222.882	5.4	-1.3	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	275.916	-	269.811	13.0	-2.2	-
Dairy and related products	162.693	-	165.538	1.8	1.7	-
Fruits and vegetables	387.362	-	372.131	4.9	-3.9	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	176.045	-	176.982	1.9	0.5	-
Other food at home	239.519	-	240.378	4.7	0.4	-
Food away from home	292.707	-	292.239	-2.0	-0.2	-
Alcoholic beverages	255.861	-	265.749	18.2	3.9	-
Housing	231.795	-	232.764	1.5	0.4	-
Shelter	270.586	270.332	271.674	1.4	0.4	0.5
Rent of primary residence	253.340	253.495	254.975	4.6	0.6	0.6
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	285.596	286.125	287.593	3.3	0.7	0.5
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	285.596	286.125	287.593	3.3	0.7	0.5
Fuels and utilities	239.319	-	239.919	0.5	0.3	-
Household energy	213.260	213.468	213.984	-0.8	0.3	0.2
Energy services	216.019	216.225	216.750	-0.9	0.3	0.2
Electricity	233.631	233.893	233.940	-0.8	0.1	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service	145.905	145.977	147.254	-2.6	0.9	0.9
Household furnishings and operations	124.462	-	125.311	3.5	0.7	-
Apparel	123.052	-	127.278	-8.2	3.4	-
Transportation	180.441	-	185.683	-4.2	2.9	-
Private transportation	183.322	-	188.940	-3.3	3.1	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	91.295	-	94.438	1.0	3.4	-
New vehicles(1)	205.445	-	207.289	0.5	0.9	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	294.161	-	322.308	3.7	9.6	-
Motor fuel	180.472	192.101	190.395	-21.4	5.5	-0.9
Gasoline (all types)	177.308	189.000	187.410	-21.4	5.7	-0.8
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	169.408	180.842	179.365	-21.7	5.9	-0.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	219.200	231.386	228.037	-20.5	4.0	-1.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	193.930	204.393	203.011	-18.9	4.7	-0.7
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	599.540	-	584.345	1.0	-2.5	-
Medical care	472.085	-	472.486	1.2	0.1	-
Recreation(3)	121.015	-	120.416	4.5	-0.5	-
Education and communication(3)	141.340	-	143.919	4.6	1.8	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,257.733	-	1,261.841	2.2	0.3	-
Other goods and services	342.779	-	322.529	-3.1	-5.9	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	184.521	-	186.729	-1.0	1.2	-
Commodities less food and beverages	145.531	-	148.629	-4.0	2.1	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	192.594	-	195.815	-8.0	1.7	-
Durables	100.812	-	103.399	0.6	2.6	-
Services	283.496	-	284.013	2.0	0.2	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	222.646	-	224.041	0.6	0.6	-
All items less medical care	221.568	-	222.905	0.8	0.6	-
Commodities less food	149.922	-	153.249	-3.0	2.2	-
Nondurables	229.568	-	230.886	-1.8	0.6	-
Nondurables less food	198.276	-	202.028	-5.9	1.9	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	304.639	-	304.545	2.6	0.0	-
Services less medical care services	265.800	-	266.227	1.9	0.2	-
Energy	200.155	205.430	204.965	-10.1	2.4	-0.2
All items less energy	239.826	-	240.833	1.9	0.4	-
All items less food and energy	235.734	-	237.142	1.8	0.6	-
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.