The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach was up 2.6 percent over the January-February pricing period, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.0 percent and the energy index rose 4.0 percent. The food index declined 0.5 percent over the two-month pricing period. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 3.2 percent. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.3 percent over the year, and the energy index increased 6.4 percent. The food index was up 0.6 percent since February 2017. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index declined 0.5 percent over the January-February pricing period, reflecting a 0.8 percent decrease in the food at home index. The food away from home index was unchanged over the two months.

Since February 2017, the food index was up 0.6 percent. A 1.9 percent increase in the food away from home index was partially offset by a 0.4-percent decline in the food at home index.

Energy

The energy index rose 4.0 percent over the January-February pricing period, reflecting a 7.1 percent increase in the motor fuel index. The electricity index edged up 0.2 percent over the two months.

Over the year, the energy index advanced 6.4 percent, led by a 12.0-percent increase in the motor fuel index. Since February 2017, the electricity index edged up 0.3 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy was up 3.0 percent over the January-February pricing period as increases were noted for several indexes, including medical care (12.3 percent), shelter (1.4 percent), and motor vehicle insurance (21.2 percent).

From February 2017 to February 2018, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.3 percent. The indexes for shelter and medical care contributed to the increase, up 4.3 and 12.1 percent, respectively.

Table A. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2014		2015		2016		2017		2018
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	1.2	1.6	0.3	0.4	0.2	1.6	1.3	4.0	2.6	3.2
April	0.7	2.5	0.8	0.5	0.7	1.4	-0.5	2.8
June	-0.3	2.4	0.4	1.2	0.6	1.6	-0.2	2.0
August	-0.1	2.4	0.0	1.3	0.0	1.6	0.3	2.3
October	0.4	2.2	0.2	1.1	0.5	1.9	1.0	2.7
December	-0.6	1.4	-0.1	1.6	0.8	2.9	-0.1	1.8

The Consumer Price Index for March 2018 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 11, 2018.

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 93 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 29 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 75 urban areas across the country from about 5,000 housing units and approximately 22,000 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 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL, Core Based Statistical Area covered in this release is comprised of Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach Counties in Florida.

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
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Dec. 2017	Jan. 2018	Feb. 2018	Feb. 2017	Dec. 2017	Jan. 2018
Expenditure category
All Items	258.238	-	264.990	3.2	2.6	-
All items (November 1977=100)	416.243	-	427.127	-	-	-
Food and beverages	262.833	-	261.149	0.5	-0.6	-
Food	264.858	-	263.618	0.6	-0.5	-
Food at home	255.014	252.586	252.883	-0.4	-0.8	0.1
Cereals and bakery products	271.316	-	273.684	-	0.9	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	247.798	-	237.273	-	-4.2	-
Dairy and related products	219.603	-	221.067	-	0.7	-
Fruits and vegetables	338.317	-	347.162	-	2.6	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	252.062	-	247.350	-	-1.9	-
Other food at home	210.630	-	209.450	-	-0.6	-
Food away from home	283.356	-	283.480	1.9	0.0	-
Alcoholic beverages	235.877	-	228.669	-0.6	-3.1	-
Housing	270.748	-	273.751	3.7	1.1	-
Shelter	309.819	312.717	314.061	4.3	1.4	0.4
Rent of primary residence(2)	302.978	303.510	304.513	3.4	0.5	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	311.484	312.048	312.622	4.0	0.4	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)(3)	311.484	312.048	312.622	4.0	0.4	0.2
Fuels and utilities	177.970	-	178.329	1.3	0.2	-
Household energy	152.400	152.928	152.789	0.2	0.3	-0.1
Energy services(2)	149.468	149.928	149.775	0.1	0.2	-0.1
Electricity(2)	146.340	146.820	146.697	0.3	0.2	-0.1
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	190.940	189.233	-	-	-	-
Household furnishings and operations	160.990	-	159.469	-0.1	-0.9	-
Apparel	135.727	-	141.878	4.9	4.5	-
Transportation	213.012	-	228.422	2.3	7.2	-
Private transportation	217.021	-	231.763	2.1	6.8	-
New and used motor vehicles(4)	115.819	-	118.391	-	2.2	-
New vehicles(1)	227.624	-	229.906	-	1.0	-
Used vehicles(1)	289.059	-	291.836	-	1.0	-
Motor fuel	223.239	224.841	239.172	12.0	7.1	6.4
Gasoline (all types)	220.617	222.133	236.381	12.0	7.1	6.4
Unleaded regular(5)	216.993	218.593	233.216	12.3	7.5	6.7
Unleaded midgrade(5)(6)	219.943	220.286	232.207	10.0	5.6	5.4
Unleaded premium(5)	240.612	241.548	251.825	9.6	4.7	4.3
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	719.248	-	871.461	-	21.2	-
Medical Care	506.044	-	568.048	12.1	12.3	-
Recreation(4)	117.315	-	119.810	-0.3	2.1	-
Education and communication(4)	120.965	-	119.520	-4.4	-1.2	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	956.215	-	954.486	-	-0.2	-
Other goods and services	349.459	-	349.841	2.4	0.1	-
Commodity and service group
All Items	258.238	-	264.990	3.2	2.6	-
Commodities	203.045	-	205.197	1.7	1.1	-
Commodities less food & beverages	167.080	-	171.107	2.6	2.4	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	200.904	-	208.119	4.9	3.6	-
Durables	130.431	-	130.616	-2.0	0.1	-
Services	300.720	-	310.852	3.9	3.4	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	247.660	-	252.192	2.4	1.8	-
All items less shelter	231.002	-	239.032	2.3	3.5	-
Commodities less food	169.745	-	173.369	2.4	2.1	-
Nondurables	234.078	-	237.066	2.5	1.3	-
Nondurables less food	203.121	-	209.408	4.5	3.1	-
Services less rent of shelter(3)	295.385	-	314.176	3.1	6.4	-
Services less medical care services	286.697	-	292.945	2.6	2.2	-
Energy	184.222	185.231	191.562	6.4	4.0	3.4
All items less energy	266.568	-	273.255	2.9	2.5	-
All items less food and energy	266.753	-	274.796	3.3	3.0	-
Footnotes (1) Index is on a November 1977=100 base. (2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (3) Index is on a November 1982=100 base. (4) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (5) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (6) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
- Data not available. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.