The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Midwest was unchanged for the second month in a row in June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Higher costs for electricity (8.1 percent) and shelter (0.4 percent) had the largest upward impact on the index, while lower prices for apparel (-3.1 percent) and gasoline (-1.7 percent) had the largest offsetting movements. The all items less food and energy index was essentially unchanged (-0.1 percent) in June, food prices were down 0.4 percent, and energy costs rose 2.2 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The CPI-U for the Midwest rose 0.9 percent from June 2016 to June 2017. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index, which includes motor fuel and household fuels, registered little change (-0.1 percent) and food prices increased 0.3 percent. Excluding food and energy, the CPI-U advanced 1.1 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

 

Food

Food prices in the Midwest were 0.4 percent lower in June. Costs for food away from home were down 0.4 percent while prices for food at home declined 0.3 percent.

From June 2016 to June 2017, the index for food was 0.3 percent higher attributable to an increase of 0.9 percent in costs for food away from home. Prices for food at home were little changed (-0.1 percent).

Energy

The energy index turned up 2.2 percent in June following a decline of 0.7 percent in May. Higher prices for electricity, up 8.1 percent, were largely responsible for the increase in the energy component. Costs for utility (piped) gas service also contributed to the increase with an advance of 1.2 percent, while lower prices for gasoline (-1.7 percent) moderated the overall gain.

Energy costs were essentially unchanged (-0.1 percent) from June 2016 to June 2017 due to mixed movements within the index.  Higher prices for utility (piped) gas service (15.2 percent) and electricity (3.2 percent) were more than offset by a decline in costs for gasoline (-7.3 percent).

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy for the Midwest was little changed, -0.1 percent, in June after registering no change in May. A 3.1-percent decrease in apparel prices had the largest downward impact on the index. Among the other expenditure categories that declined over the month were new and used motor vehicles (-0.3 percent) and education and communication (-0.3 percent). Moderating the overall change, shelter costs advanced 0.4 percent for the second month in a row. Expenditure categories registering no change in June included recreation and medical care.

The index for all items less food and energy was up 1.1 percent from June 2016 to June 2017. Higher costs for shelter (2.6 percent) led the advance.

The Midwest Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) stood at 229.780 in June 2017. A typical market basket of goods and services that cost $100.00 in the 1982-84 base period cost $229.78 in June 2017.

CPI-W

In June, the Midwest Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 223.625, unchanged over the month. The CPI-W increased 0.6 percent over the year.

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

Month	2013		2014		2015		2016		2017
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.1	1.3	0.5	1.4	-0.6	-0.3	0.3	0.8	0.7	2.2
February	1.1	2.2	0.6	0.9	0.3	-0.5	0.0	0.4	0.2	2.4
March	0.2	1.4	0.9	1.5	0.6	-0.9	0.6	0.5	0.1	1.9
April	-0.1	1.2	0.3	1.9	0.1	-1.1	0.4	0.8	0.4	1.8
May	0.5	1.8	0.2	1.6	0.4	-0.8	0.4	0.8	0.0	1.4
June	0.3	2.2	0.5	1.7	0.5	-0.7	0.6	0.8	0.0	0.9
July	-0.4	1.8	-0.3	1.8	0.0	-0.5	-0.5	0.4
August	0.1	1.2	-0.2	1.6	0.0	-0.3	0.1	0.6
September	0.1	1.0	0.1	1.6	-0.3	-0.8	0.2	1.1
October	-0.5	0.8	-0.5	1.6	-0.1	-0.3	-0.1	1.0
November	-0.2	1.0	-0.6	1.2	-0.5	-0.2	-0.3	1.2
December	-0.2	1.0	-0.7	0.7	-0.6	0.0	0.1	1.8

The July 2017 Consumer Price Index for the Midwest region is scheduled to be released on Friday, August 11, 2017.

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 89 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 28 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 87 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 24,000 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/homch17_a.htm.

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 areas; 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.

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