Prices in the Midwest Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.6 percent in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The July increase was most influenced by higher prices for all items less food and energy, but increases in the energy and food indexes also contributed. (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 rose 5.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 4.6 percent over the year. Energy prices jumped 26.6 percent, while food prices increased 3.6 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.7 percent for the month of July. Prices for food at home increased 0.8 percent and prices for food away from home increased 0.6 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 3.6 percent. Prices for food away from home increased 5.4 percent and prices for food at home increased 2.3 percent since a year ago.

Energy

The energy index rose 1.6 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (2.2 percent). Prices for electricity rose 0.9 percent and prices for natural gas also advanced 0.9 for the same period.

Energy prices jumped 26.6 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (42.9 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service jumped 35.1 percent and prices for electricity advanced 2.2 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.5 percent in July. Higher prices for shelter (0.7 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (1.9 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for apparel (-1.0 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 4.6 percent. Components contributing to the increase included used cars and trucks (42.1 percent), shelter (3.4 percent), and recreation (4.5 percent).

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

Month	2017		2018		2019		2020		2021
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.7	2.2	0.4	1.6	-0.2	0.8	0.4	2.5	0.5	1.2
February	0.8	2.4	0.9	1.7	0.9	1.3	0.3	2.1	0.8	1.7
March	0.2	1.9	0.4	1.8	1.3	1.7	-0.5	1.0	0.7	3.0
April	0.5	1.8	0.6	1.8	0.9	1.5	-1.1	-0.4	0.8	4.9
May	0.4	1.4	0.9	2.3	0.6	1.3	0.3	-0.4	1.0	5.6
June	0.0	0.9	0.7	2.5	0.3	1.2	0.8	0.4	1.0	5.8
July	0.1	1.3	0.1	2.4	0.2	1.5	0.5	0.7	0.6	5.9
August	0.3	1.5	-0.1	2.1	0.2	1.5	0.4	1.1
September	0.5	1.5	0.1	1.9	0.0	1.4	0.2	1.3
October	0.1	1.5	0.2	2.2	0.2	1.5	-0.1	1.0
November	0.0	1.9	-0.5	1.4	0.0	1.9	-0.2	1.0
December	0.0	1.7	-0.9	1.3	-0.2	2.3	0.1	1.1

The August 2021 Consumer Price Index for the Midwest Region is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, September 14, 2021.

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 U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. 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; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000.  Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods available on the internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/.

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 individuals with sensory impairments 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
	May 2021	Jun. 2021	Jul. 2021	Jul. 2020	May 2021	Jun. 2021
All items	250.582	253.042	254.671	5.9	1.6	0.6
All items (December 1977 = 100)	407.711	411.713	414.364
Food and beverages	260.699	262.863	264.662	3.5	1.5	0.7
Food	260.372	262.685	264.563	3.6	1.6	0.7
Food at home	238.169	239.911	241.889	2.3	1.6	0.8
Cereals and bakery products	269.228	266.483	271.821	3.2	1.0	2.0
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	264.274	272.206	278.787	3.1	5.5	2.4
Dairy and related products	209.037	210.380	209.480	2.1	0.2	-0.4
Fruits and vegetables	286.366	284.776	281.328	4.0	-1.8	-1.2
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	168.655	170.493	172.584	2.4	2.3	1.2
Other food at home	203.672	204.505	205.596	0.1	0.9	0.5
Food away from home	296.906	300.104	301.855	5.4	1.7	0.6
Alcoholic beverages	263.312	263.610	264.404	2.0	0.4	0.3
Housing	244.883	246.977	248.779	4.5	1.6	0.7
Shelter	292.571	294.263	296.222	3.4	1.2	0.7
Rent of primary residence(1)	294.051	295.241	296.658	3.0	0.9	0.5
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)(2)	299.181	300.291	301.584	3.0	0.8	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)(2)	299.100	300.200	301.495	3.0	0.8	0.4
Fuels and utilities	236.535	245.023	246.840	10.1	4.4	0.7
Household energy	190.985	199.715	201.594	12.2	5.6	0.9
Energy services(1)	197.813	206.985	208.871	11.6	5.6	0.9
Electricity(1)	203.885	215.066	217.039	2.2	6.5	0.9
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	175.164	180.551	182.176	35.1	4.0	0.9
Household furnishings and operations	122.670	122.603	123.950	5.6	1.0	1.1
Apparel	112.137	110.380	109.230	3.0	-2.6	-1.0
Transportation	222.265	230.315	233.423	19.3	5.0	1.3
Private transportation	219.265	227.777	231.799	19.8	5.7	1.8
New and used motor vehicles(3)	110.267	116.619	118.797	19.2	7.7	1.9
New vehicles	143.518	145.884	150.440	7.2	4.8	3.1
New cars and trucks(3)(4)	101.463	103.129	106.340	7.2	4.8	3.1
New cars(4)	140.483	143.119	146.908	5.6	4.6	2.6
Used cars and trucks	179.162	198.907	200.603	42.1	12.0	0.9
Motor fuel	262.509	271.925	277.787	42.8	5.8	2.2
Gasoline (all types)	261.379	270.762	276.714	42.9	5.9	2.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	254.908	264.197	270.038	43.9	5.9	2.2
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	300.920	311.034	317.948	38.2	5.7	2.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	281.618	290.072	296.018	33.8	5.1	2.0
Motor vehicle insurance(6)	742.438	742.963	742.623	1.0	0.0	0.0
Medical care	523.590	522.287	522.055	0.6	-0.3	0.0
Medical care commodities	373.797	371.477	371.192	-3.2	-0.7	-0.1
Medical care services	573.376	572.390	572.174	1.4	-0.2	0.0
Professional services	435.381	435.596	436.969	1.7	0.4	0.3
Recreation(3)	127.355	126.562	126.935	4.5	-0.3	0.3
Education and communication(3)	141.392	141.600	141.853	0.9	0.3	0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)	1,224.492	1,225.400	1,228.391	1.7	0.3	0.2
Other goods and services	453.565	452.794	455.936	2.0	0.5	0.7
Commodity and service group
Commodities	190.571	193.842	195.708	9.6	2.7	1.0
Commodities less food and beverages	156.575	160.097	161.904	13.6	3.4	1.1
Nondurables less food and beverages	200.268	201.313	202.874	11.8	1.3	0.8
Durables	112.628	117.217	118.962	15.5	5.6	1.5
Services	312.287	313.785	315.114	3.5	0.9	0.4
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	237.930	240.656	242.184	7.0	1.8	0.6
All items less medical care	237.668	240.316	242.039	6.5	1.8	0.7
Commodities less food	159.913	163.363	165.148	13.1	3.3	1.1
Nondurables	229.902	231.485	233.165	7.2	1.4	0.7
Nondurables less food	203.585	204.580	206.088	10.9	1.2	0.7
Services less rent of shelter(2)	342.714	344.019	344.691	3.5	0.6	0.2
Services less medical care services	292.771	294.475	295.934	3.8	1.1	0.5
Energy	223.383	232.432	236.105	26.6	5.7	1.6
All items less energy	256.490	258.372	259.835	4.5	1.3	0.6
All items less food and energy	256.556	258.368	259.762	4.6	1.2	0.5
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.