The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the South increased 0.7 percent in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The energy index rose 6.8 percent over the month. The all items less food and energy index and the food index each edged up 0.2 percent in September. (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 increased 2.4 percent since September 2016. The all items less food and energy index moved up 1.7 percent over the last 12 months, and the energy index advanced 11.8 percent. The food index rose 1.0 percent over the year. (See chart 1.)

Food

The food index edged up 0.2 percent in September. Over the month, prices for food away from home edged up 0.3 percent, and prices for food at home inched up 0.1 percent.

The food index rose 1.0 percent since September 2016, reflecting higher prices for food away from home, up 2.1 percent. Over the year, prices for food at home edged up 0.2 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 6.8 percent in September, led by a 15.7-percent increase in motor fuel prices. The electricity and utility (piped) gas service indexes declined over the month, down 0.5 and 1.3 percent, respectively.

From September 2016—September 2017, energy prices advanced 11.8 percent, reflecting a 23.6-percent increase for motor fuel prices. Prices for electricity and utility (piped) gas service also rose, up 1.3 and 8.5 percent, respectively.

All items less food and energy

The all items less food and energy index edged up 0.2 percent in September. Several categories recorded increases, most notably shelter (0.4 percent) and apparel (3.3 percent).

Since September 2016, the all items less food and energy index advanced 1.7 percent, led by an increase in the shelter index (3.3 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	0.0	2.2
April	-0.2	0.9	0.5	2.3	0.3	-0.6	0.4	0.9	0.2	2.0
May	0.0	1.3	0.2	2.4	0.4	-0.4	0.4	0.9	0.0	1.7
June	0.4	1.9	0.2	2.3	0.5	-0.1	0.4	0.8	0.2	1.5
July	0.2	2.2	-0.1	2.0	-0.1	-0.1	-0.2	0.7	-0.2	1.6
August	0.1	1.7	-0.2	1.7	-0.2	-0.2	0.1	1.0	0.4	1.9
September	0.0	1.3	0.1	1.7	-0.2	-0.4	0.2	1.4	0.7	2.4
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 October 2017 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 15, 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 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.

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
South (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Jul. 2017	Aug. 2017	Sep. 2017	Sep. 2016	Jul. 2017	Aug. 2017
Expenditure category
All Items	236.942	237.892	239.649	2.4	1.1	0.7
All items (December 1977=100)	384.353	385.894	388.744	-	-	-
Food and beverages	247.957	248.255	248.735	1.1	0.3	0.2
Food	249.284	249.549	249.981	1.0	0.3	0.2
Food at home	237.276	237.375	237.646	0.2	0.2	0.1
Food away from home	270.049	270.563	271.240	2.1	0.4	0.3
Alcoholic beverages	228.953	229.753	230.979	1.7	0.9	0.5
Housing	232.663	233.398	233.926	2.7	0.5	0.2
Shelter	265.614	266.850	267.797	3.3	0.8	0.4
Rent of primary residence(1)	275.889	277.156	278.236	3.9	0.9	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)	267.496	268.791	269.658	3.1	0.8	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	267.492	268.782	269.649	3.1	0.8	0.3
Fuels and utilities	242.147	242.139	241.219	2.3	-0.4	-0.4
Household energy	198.368	198.075	197.042	2.3	-0.7	-0.5
Energy services(1)	198.949	198.670	197.501	2.2	-0.7	-0.6
Electricity(1)	197.266	196.849	195.888	1.3	-0.7	-0.5
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	193.776	194.451	191.980	8.5	-0.9	-1.3
Household furnishings and operations	120.582	120.043	120.091	-1.3	-0.4	0.0
Apparel	130.081	130.746	135.036	-0.6	3.8	3.3
Transportation	199.866	202.213	208.467	6.6	4.3	3.1
Private transportation	197.997	200.731	207.300	7.0	4.7	3.3
New and used motor vehicles(3)	102.191	101.833	100.727	-1.7	-1.4	-1.1
New vehicles	153.000	152.523	151.566	-0.6	-0.9	-0.6
New cars and trucks(3)(4)	104.169	103.866	103.190	-0.6	-0.9	-0.7
New cars(4)	152.022	151.553	150.330	-1.3	-1.1	-0.8
Used cars and trucks	140.432	140.423	138.293	-3.3	-1.5	-1.5
Motor fuel	189.822	199.441	230.813	23.6	21.6	15.7
Gasoline (all types)	188.882	198.505	229.894	23.7	21.7	15.8
Unleaded regular(4)	183.654	193.308	225.035	24.2	22.5	16.4
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	212.417	221.364	250.266	21.6	17.8	13.1
Unleaded premium(4)	212.531	220.951	247.185	20.2	16.3	11.9
Medical care	456.954	457.722	457.560	1.8	0.1	0.0
Medical care commodities	366.507	368.369	367.631	0.7	0.3	-0.2
Medical care services	487.413	487.730	487.802	2.2	0.1	0.0
Professional services	361.131	361.381	361.286	-1.6	0.0	0.0
Recreation(3)	117.914	117.923	117.769	1.3	-0.1	-0.1
Education and communication(3)	131.319	132.004	132.253	-3.4	0.7	0.2
Other goods and services	419.781	419.118	420.135	0.9	0.1	0.2
Commodity and service group
All Items	236.942	237.892	239.649	2.4	1.1	0.7
Commodities	179.861	180.686	183.782	1.9	2.2	1.7
Commodities less food and beverages	147.773	148.786	152.844	2.5	3.4	2.7
Nondurables less food and beverages	189.787	192.701	203.144	6.1	7.0	5.4
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel	226.833	231.036	245.065	8.3	8.0	6.1
Durables	108.217	107.786	106.955	-2.1	-1.2	-0.8
Services	294.291	295.371	295.851	2.7	0.5	0.2
Rent of shelter(2)	272.622	273.905	274.892	3.3	0.8	0.4
Transportation services	344.379	345.980	345.528	5.9	0.3	-0.1
Other services	336.055	337.227	337.726	-0.4	0.5	0.1
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	224.959	225.910	227.743	2.4	1.2	0.8
All items less food	234.808	235.863	237.822	2.6	1.3	0.8
All items less shelter	226.770	227.608	229.712	1.9	1.3	0.9
Commodities less food	150.259	151.271	155.275	2.5	3.3	2.6
Nondurables	217.372	219.034	224.709	3.4	3.4	2.6
Nondurables less food	191.776	194.576	204.524	5.9	6.6	5.1
Nondurables less food and apparel	225.913	229.822	242.755	7.8	7.5	5.6
Services less rent of shelter(2)	330.738	331.593	331.443	2.0	0.2	0.0
Services less medical care services	276.936	278.051	278.552	2.7	0.6	0.2
Energy	190.436	194.532	207.849	11.8	9.1	6.8
All items less energy	242.926	243.533	244.023	1.6	0.5	0.2
All items less food and energy	242.224	242.892	243.392	1.7	0.5	0.2
Commodities less food and energy commodities	146.081	145.916	146.162	-1.2	0.1	0.2
Energy commodities	193.352	202.893	234.228	23.3	21.1	15.4
Services less energy services	304.261	305.492	306.160	2.7	0.6	0.2
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) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
- Data not available. Regions defined as the four Census regions. South includes Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.