The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the South edged up 0.2 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The all items less food and energy index rose 0.4 percent over the month. The food index inched up 0.1 percent, while the energy index declined 1.1 percent in February. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The all items CPI-U advanced 2.8 percent since February 2016. The all items less food and energy index increased 2.2 percent over the last 12 months and the energy index increased 15.4 percent, its largest 12-month increase since September 2011. In contrast, the food index was unchanged over the past year. (See chart 1.)

Food

The food index inched up 0.1 percent in February, led by an increase in the food at home index (0.2 percent). The food away from home index was unchanged over the month.

The food index was unchanged over the year. The food at home index fell 1.5 percent since February 2016, while the food away from home index was up 2.0 percent.

Energy

The energy index declined 1.1 percent in February, led by a 3.2-pecent decline in the motor fuel index. The electricity index was up 0.8 percent and the utility (piped) gas service index advanced 1.3 percent over the month.

From February 2016—February 2017, energy prices advanced 15.4 percent, reflecting price increases for motor fuel (32.4 percent), electricity (2.3 percent), and utility (piped) gas service (15.7 percent).

All items less food and energy

The all items less food and energy index was up 0.4 percent in February. Several categories recorded increases, most notably medical care (1.5 percent), shelter (0.3 percent), and apparel (1.6 percent).

Since February 2016, the all items less food and energy index advanced 2.2 percent—led by increases in shelter (3.0 percent) and medical care (5.1 percent).

Table A. South 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	0.4	1.6	0.3	1.7	-0.7	-0.4	0.0	1.2	0.5	2.6
February	0.9	1.8	0.4	1.2	0.5	-0.3	0.1	0.7	0.2	2.8
March	0.3	1.5	0.6	1.5	0.6	-0.3	0.6	0.7
April	-0.2	0.9	0.5	2.3	0.3	-0.6	0.4	0.9
May	0.0	1.3	0.2	2.4	0.4	-0.4	0.4	0.9
June	0.4	1.9	0.2	2.3	0.5	-0.1	0.4	0.8
July	0.2	2.2	-0.1	2.0	-0.1	-0.1	-0.2	0.7
August	0.1	1.7	-0.2	1.7	-0.2	-0.2	0.1	1.0
September	0.0	1.3	0.1	1.7	-0.2	-0.4	0.2	1.4
October	-0.2	1.3	-0.3	1.6	0.0	-0.1	0.1	1.5
November	-0.3	1.5	-0.6	1.3	-0.2	0.3	-0.1	1.6
December	0.1	1.8	-0.6	0.6	-0.4	0.5	0.1	2.0

The Consumer Price Index for March 2017 is scheduled to be released on Friday, April 14, 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 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 https://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 South region is comprised of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

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