Gasoline prices averaged $2.394 a gallon in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area in March 2017, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that area gasoline prices were 40.6 cents higher when compared to last March when they averaged $1.988 per gallon. Miami area households paid an average of 11.9 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in March 2017, up from 11.3 cents per kWh in March 2016. The average price of utility (piped) gas at $1.500 per therm in March was similar to the $1.473 per therm spent last year. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Miami area consumers paid $2.394 a gallon for gasoline in March 2017, similar to the $2.386 paid nationally. A year earlier, prices paid for a gallon of gasoline by consumers in the Miami area compared to the national average. The average price for a gallon of gasoline in Miami in the month of March has been similar to the nationwide average in each of the last five years. (See chart 1.)

The 11.9 cents per kWh Miami households paid for electricity in March 2017 was 11.2 percent less than the nationwide average of 13.4 cents per kWh. Last March, electricity costs were 15.7 percent lower in Miami compared to the nation. The local price of electricity in the Miami area in March was at least 10 percent less than the U.S. average in each of the last five years. (See chart 2.)

Prices paid by Miami area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.500 per therm, or 51.7 percent higher than the national average in March 2017 ($0.989 per therm). A year earlier, area consumers paid 66.6 percent more per therm for natural gas than the nation. In each of the last five years, the per therm cost for natural gas in the Miami area exceeded the U.S. average by at least 42 percent in the month of March. (See chart 3.)

The Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of Broward and Miami-Dade Counties in Florida.

The Consumer Price Index for April 2017 is scheduled to be released on Friday, May 12, 2017.

Technical Note

Average prices are estimated from Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for selected commodity series to support the research and analytic needs of CPI data users. Average prices for electricity, utility (piped) gas, and gasoline are published monthly for the U.S. city average, the 4 regions, the 3 population size classes, 10 region/size-class cross-classifications, and the 14 largest local index areas. For electricity, average prices per kilowatt-hour (kWh) are published. For utility (piped) gas, average prices per therm are published. For gasoline, the average price per gallon is published. Average prices for commonly available grades of gasoline are published as well as the average price across all grades.

All eligible prices are converted to a price per normalized quantity. These prices are then used to estimate a price for a defined fixed quantity. The average price per kilowatt-hour represents the total bill divided by the kilowatt-hour usage. The total bill is the sum of all items applicable to all consumers appearing on an electricity bill including, but not limited to, variable rates per kWh, fixed costs, taxes, surcharges, and credits. This calculation also applies to the average price per therm for utility (piped) gas.

Information from 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. Average prices for gasoline, electricity, and utility (piped) gas, Miami-Fort Lauderdale and the United States, March 2016-2017, not seasonally adjusted

Year and month	Gasoline per gallon		Electricity per kWh		Utility (piped) gas per therm
	Miami area	United States	Miami area	United States	Miami area	United States
2016
March	1.988	2.021	0.113	0.134	1.473	0.884
April	2.146	2.196	0.108	0.134	1.446	0.879
May	2.293	2.324	0.108	0.133	1.446	0.877
June	2.377	2.422	0.108	0.138	1.446	0.891
July	2.286	2.287	0.108	0.139	1.427	0.931
August	2.226	2.218	0.108	0.139	1.424	0.943
September	2.261	2.269	0.108	0.139	1.433	0.954
October	2.319	2.304	0.108	0.134	1.431	0.961
November	2.247	2.246	0.108	0.131	1.452	0.970
December	2.314	2.289	0.108	0.133	1.475	0.972
2017
January	2.413	2.409	0.118	0.134	1.500	1.000
February	2.378	2.360	0.119	0.135	1.500	1.003
March	2.394	2.386	0.119	0.134	1.500	0.989