The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the South edged down 0.2 percent in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The energy index declined 5.4 percent over the month. The all items less food and energy index rose 0.3 percent and the food index edged up 0.2 percent in October. (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 2.0 percent since October 2016. The all items less food and energy index increased 1.7 percent over the last 12 months, and the energy index advanced 6.7 percent. The food index rose 1.2 percent over the year. (See chart 1.)

Food

The food index edged up 0.2 percent in October. Prices for food at home increased 0.4 percent over the month, while prices for food away from home declined 0.2 percent.

The food index rose 1.2 percent since October 2016, reflecting price increases for both food away from home (1.9 percent) and for food at home (0.8 percent).

Energy

The energy index declined 5.4 percent in October, reflecting an 8.1 percent drop in motor fuel prices. Prices for electricity and for utility (piped) gas service also declined over-the-month, down 3.4 and 0.1 percent, respectively.

From October 2016—October 2017, energy prices advanced 6.7 percent as price increases were recorded for motor fuel (10.3 percent), electricity (3.0 percent), and utility (piped) gas service (6.8 percent).

All items less food and energy

The all items less food and energy index edged up 0.3 percent in October, led by increases in the shelter and apparel indexes, up 0.3 and 1.3 percent, respectively.

Since October 2016, the all items less food and energy index advanced 1.7 percent—largely contributed to a 3.2-percent increase in the shelter index.

 

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	-0.2	2.0
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 November 2017 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, December 13, 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-
	Aug. 2017	Sep. 2017	Oct. 2017	Oct. 2016	Aug. 2017	Sep. 2017
Expenditure category
All Items	237.892	239.649	239.067	2.0	0.5	-0.2
All items (December 1977=100)	385.894	388.744	387.800	-	-	-
Food and beverages	248.255	248.735	249.112	1.2	0.3	0.2
Food	249.549	249.981	250.357	1.2	0.3	0.2
Food at home	237.375	237.646	238.588	0.8	0.5	0.4
Food away from home	270.563	271.240	270.779	1.9	0.1	-0.2
Alcoholic beverages	229.753	230.979	231.365	1.4	0.7	0.2
Housing	233.398	233.926	233.871	2.8	0.2	0.0
Shelter	266.850	267.797	268.632	3.2	0.7	0.3
Rent of primary residence(1)	277.156	278.236	279.360	3.9	0.8	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)	268.791	269.658	270.587	3.1	0.7	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	268.782	269.649	270.578	3.1	0.7	0.3
Fuels and utilities	242.139	241.219	236.082	3.3	-2.5	-2.1
Household energy	198.075	197.042	191.413	3.6	-3.4	-2.9
Energy services(1)	198.670	197.501	191.612	3.4	-3.6	-3.0
Electricity(1)	196.849	195.888	189.232	3.0	-3.9	-3.4
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	194.451	191.980	191.747	6.8	-1.4	-0.1
Household furnishings and operations	120.043	120.091	120.359	-1.1	0.3	0.2
Apparel	130.746	135.036	136.724	-1.9	4.6	1.3
Transportation	202.213	208.467	204.679	3.9	1.2	-1.8
Private transportation	200.731	207.300	203.164	4.1	1.2	-2.0
New and used motor vehicles(3)	101.833	100.727	100.355	-1.5	-1.5	-0.4
New vehicles	152.523	151.566	151.465	-0.7	-0.7	-0.1
New cars and trucks(3)(4)	103.866	103.190	103.117	-0.7	-0.7	-0.1
New cars(4)	151.553	150.330	150.012	-1.5	-1.0	-0.2
Used cars and trucks	140.423	138.293	137.058	-2.4	-2.4	-0.9
Motor fuel	199.441	230.813	212.172	10.3	6.4	-8.1
Gasoline (all types)	198.505	229.894	211.074	10.2	6.3	-8.2
Unleaded regular(4)	193.308	225.035	205.869	10.2	6.5	-8.5
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	221.364	250.266	233.554	10.3	5.5	-6.7
Unleaded premium(4)	220.951	247.185	232.595	10.3	5.3	-5.9
Medical care	457.722	457.560	457.382	2.0	-0.1	0.0
Medical care commodities	368.369	367.631	366.203	-0.2	-0.6	-0.4
Medical care services	487.730	487.802	488.130	2.7	0.1	0.1
Professional services	361.381	361.286	360.876	-1.5	-0.1	-0.1
Recreation(3)	117.923	117.769	117.386	0.9	-0.5	-0.3
Education and communication(3)	132.004	132.253	132.618	-2.7	0.5	0.3
Other goods and services	419.118	420.135	422.274	1.3	0.8	0.5
Commodity and service group
All Items	237.892	239.649	239.067	2.0	0.5	-0.2
Commodities	180.686	183.782	182.389	0.8	0.9	-0.8
Commodities less food and beverages	148.786	152.844	150.781	0.5	1.3	-1.3
Nondurables less food and beverages	192.701	203.144	198.663	2.3	3.1	-2.2
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel	231.036	245.065	237.140	3.6	2.6	-3.2
Durables	107.786	106.955	106.776	-1.8	-0.9	-0.2
Services	295.371	295.851	296.047	2.8	0.2	0.1
Rent of shelter(2)	273.905	274.892	275.760	3.2	0.7	0.3
Transportation services	345.980	345.528	348.684	5.9	0.8	0.9
Other services	337.227	337.726	337.680	-0.2	0.1	0.0
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	225.910	227.743	227.147	2.0	0.5	-0.3
All items less food	235.863	237.822	237.093	2.1	0.5	-0.3
All items less shelter	227.608	229.712	228.540	1.4	0.4	-0.5
Commodities less food	151.271	155.275	153.264	0.5	1.3	-1.3
Nondurables	219.034	224.709	222.552	1.7	1.6	-1.0
Nondurables less food	194.576	204.524	200.304	2.2	2.9	-2.1
Nondurables less food and apparel	229.822	242.755	235.535	3.4	2.5	-3.0
Services less rent of shelter(2)	331.593	331.443	330.788	2.3	-0.2	-0.2
Services less medical care services	278.051	278.552	278.735	2.8	0.2	0.1
Energy	194.532	207.849	196.585	6.7	1.1	-5.4
All items less energy	243.533	244.023	244.616	1.6	0.4	0.2
All items less food and energy	242.892	243.392	244.024	1.7	0.5	0.3
Commodities less food and energy commodities	145.916	146.162	146.407	-1.3	0.3	0.2
Energy commodities	202.893	234.228	215.847	10.3	6.4	-7.8
Services less energy services	305.492	306.160	307.048	2.7	0.5	0.3
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.