Prices in the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), ticked down 0.1 percent in November after decreasing 0.2 percent in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli attributed the index movement to a seasonal decline in apparel prices. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the year, the CPI-U rose 1.6 percent. The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.1 percent. (See table A and chart 1.) Price increases for shelter drove the 12-month change in both indexes. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index was unchanged after increasing 0.4 percent in October. Prices for food away from home rose 0.3 percent for the second consecutive month, but this increase was offset by a 0.3-percent drop in prices for food at home. Turkey, potatoes, flour, and sugar were among the groceries that had lower prices in November.

For the year ended in November 2017, the food index increased 2.1 percent. Prices rose 2.2 percent for food away from home, while prices for food at home increased 1.9 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 0.7 percent after falling 5.0 percent in October. Household energy prices increased 0.9 percent, primarily because of a 5.8-percent jump in prices for natural gas, the largest increase since March 2016. Prices for fuel oil also rose. In contrast, electricity prices declined 2.2 percent. In addition to the increase in household energy prices, prices for gasoline rose 0.5 percent.

From November 2016 to November 2017, energy prices increased 8.0 percent, with gasoline prices rising 12.4 percent. Household energy prices advanced 5.0 percent, led by a 14.4-percent rise in natural gas prices. Electricity prices were down 1.6 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy inched down 0.1 percent, after rising 0.1 percent in October. Usually lower at this time of year, apparel prices fell 5.8 percent, the largest price reduction since December 2008. Prices were also down for other intercity transportation, household furnishings and operations, and other goods and services. Partially offsetting these declines were rising shelter prices, which inched up 0.1 percent for the second consecutive month. Within shelter, residential rent increased 0.1 percent. Price increases were also reported for medical care (0.2 percent) and for recreation (0.9 percent), due in part to higher admissions fees.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.1 percent. Shelter prices increased 1.7 percent, with residential rent up 2.4 percent. Prices for medical care increased 2.1 percent and for other goods and services, 1.7 percent. Apparel prices, on the other hand, were down 1.0 percent.

Table A. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes (not seasonally adjusted)

Month	2012		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	1-month	12-month
January	0.4	2.8	0.5	2.2	0.9	1.9	0.1	-0.5	0.2	0.8	0.6	2.5
February	0.4	2.6	0.6	2.4	-0.2	1.1	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.6	0.3	2.6
March	0.6	2.6	0.1	1.9	0.4	1.3	0.2	-0.1	0.2	0.7	0.0	2.3
April	0.2	2.4	-0.2	1.4	0.0	1.6	0.1	0.0	0.4	1.0	0.1	2.0
May	0.1	1.8	0.1	1.4	0.5	1.9	0.4	-0.1	0.3	0.9	0.1	1.8
June	-0.1	1.6	0.3	1.8	0.0	1.7	0.2	0.1	0.2(R)	0.9(R)	0.2	1.8
July	-0.2	1.1	0.2	2.1	0.1	1.6	-0.1	-0.1	-0.1	1.0	-0.2	1.6
August	0.6	1.4	0.1	1.7	-0.2	1.3	0.1	0.1	0.2	1.1	0.2	1.7
September	0.4	1.6	0.3	1.6	0.0	1.0	0.2	0.3	0.2	1.0	0.5	2.1
October	-0.1	1.7	-0.6	1.1	-0.2	1.3	-0.1	0.4	0.1	1.2	-0.2	1.8
November	0.0	2.0	0.1	1.2	-0.4	0.8	-0.2	0.6	0.2	1.6	-0.1	1.6
December	-0.3	2.1	0.0	1.5	-0.5	0.3	-0.4	0.7	0.1	2.1
Footnotes: (R) = revised.

CPI-W

In November, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 264.185, down 0.1 percent over the month. The CPI-W rose 1.9 percent over the year.

The December 2017 Consumer Price Index for New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island is scheduled to be released Friday, January 12, 2018, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

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/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 New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Conn.-Pa. consolidated area covered in this release is comprised of Bronx, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties in New York State; Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren Counties in New Jersey; Fairfield County and parts of Litchfield, Middlesex, and New Haven Counties in Connecticut; and Pike County in Pennsylvania.

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, New York-Northern N.J.-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)(not seasonally adjusted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Sept. 2017	Oct. 2017	Nov. 2017	Nov. 2016	Sept. 2017	Oct. 2017
Expenditure category
All items	270.059	269.575	269.381	1.6	-0.3	-0.1
All items (1967=100)	780.704	779.305	778.742
Food and beverages	261.175	262.271	262.153	1.9	0.4	0.0
Food	261.243	262.309	262.244	2.1	0.4	0.0
Food at home	252.197	253.405	252.759	1.9	0.2	-0.3
Food away from home	281.109	281.995	282.774	2.2	0.6	0.3
Alcoholic beverages	255.792	257.289	256.463	0.1	0.3	-0.3
Housing	292.867	292.432	292.699	1.8	-0.1	0.1
Shelter	370.662	371.091	371.403	1.7	0.2	0.1
Rent of primary residence(1)	383.268	384.111	384.611	2.4	0.4	0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)(2)	376.922	377.790	377.951	1.8	0.3	0.0
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)(2)	376.459	377.324	377.483	1.8	0.3	0.0
Fuels and utilities	190.718	184.521	185.970	4.5	-2.5	0.8
Household energy	182.804	175.806	177.428	5.0	-2.9	0.9
Energy services(1)	176.600	168.407	169.083	3.4	-4.3	0.4
Electricity(1)	186.545	174.350	170.429	-1.6	-8.6	-2.2
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	149.520	148.749	157.393	14.4	5.3	5.8
Household furnishings and operations	108.094	108.872	108.093	-0.3	0.0	-0.7
Apparel	132.011	130.854	123.214	-1.0	-6.7	-5.8
Transportation	217.462	215.299	216.099	2.3	-0.6	0.4
Private transportation	204.868	201.485	202.892	3.1	-1.0	0.7
Motor fuel	224.555	209.807	210.830	12.4	-6.1	0.5
Gasoline (all types)	223.701	208.899	209.900	12.4	-6.2	0.5
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)	223.226	207.635	208.897	13.0	-6.4	0.6
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)	228.957	218.182	217.643	9.6	-4.9	-0.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)	229.001	219.685	219.007	8.3	-4.4	-0.3
Medical care	476.539	479.874	480.607	2.1	0.9	0.2
Recreation(5)	123.685	121.660	122.802	1.4	-0.7	0.9
Education and communication(5)	142.094	142.227	142.328	-0.7	0.2	0.1
Other goods and services	422.606	424.127	422.113	1.7	-0.1	-0.5
Commodity and service group
All items	270.059	269.575	269.381	1.6	-0.3	-0.1
Commodities	189.498	188.766	187.520	1.4	-1.0	-0.7
Commodities less food and beverages	145.492	143.956	142.260	1.0	-2.2	-1.2
Nondurables less food and beverages	187.843	184.743	181.592	2.3	-3.3	-1.7
Durables	92.697	92.819	92.686	-1.5	0.0	-0.1
Services	338.253	337.945	338.544	1.6	0.1	0.2
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	261.083	260.441	260.208	1.5	-0.3	-0.1
All items less shelter	230.219	229.361	228.960	1.5	-0.5	-0.2
Commodities less food	149.693	148.244	146.566	0.9	-2.1	-1.1
Nondurables	226.274	225.138	223.392	2.1	-1.3	-0.8
Nondurables less food	192.012	189.177	186.159	2.2	-3.0	-1.6
Services less rent of shelter(2)	313.950	312.833	313.733	1.5	-0.1	0.3
Services less medical care services	326.694	326.174	326.790	1.5	0.0	0.2
Energy	201.202	191.166	192.583	8.0	-4.3	0.7
All items less energy	278.666	279.072	278.724	1.2	0.0	-0.1
All items less food and energy	283.583	283.881	283.483	1.1	0.0	-0.1
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) Index is on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (5) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. The New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA consolidated area comprises the five boroughs of New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, and Orange Counties in New York State; Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Monmouth, Middlesex, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren Counties in New Jersey; Fairfield County and parts of Litchfield, New Haven, and Middlesex Counties in Connecticut; and Pike County in Pennsylvania.