The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the South edged up 0.2 percent in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The all items less food and energy index increased 0.3 percent over the month. The energy index edged up 0.2 percent, while the food index was unchanged in October. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The all items CPI-U was up 2.1 percent since October 2017. The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.8 percent over the past year, and the energy index advanced 6.9 percent. The food index rose 0.8 percent over the year. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index was unchanged in October. Over the month, the food away from home index inched down 0.1 percent, while the food at home index was unchanged.

The food index rose 0.8 percent since October 2017, reflecting a 2.1-percent increase in the food away from home index. The food at home index edged down 0.2 percent over the year.

Energy

The energy index edged up 0.2 percent in October, led by increases in the motor fuel index (1.3 percent) and the utility (piped) gas service index (2.6 percent). In contrast, the electricity index declined 1.7 percent over the month.

From October 2017—October 2018, the energy index advanced 6.9 percent, reflecting a 14.2-percent increase in the motor fuel index. Over the year, the electricity and the utility (piped) gas service indexes declined, down 0.9 and 5.9 percent, respectively.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.3 percent over the October pricing period, as increases were recorded for several indexes, most notably shelter (0.3 percent) and apparel (1.8 percent). In contrast, the recreation index declined 0.5 percent.

Since October 2017, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.8 percent. The shelter index contributed to the increase, up 2.7 percent over the year.

Table A. South region CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2014		2015		2016		2017		2018
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.3	1.7	-0.7	-0.4	0.0	1.2	0.5	2.6	0.5	1.8
February	0.4	1.2	0.5	-0.3	0.1	0.7	0.2	2.8	0.6	2.1
March	0.6	1.5	0.6	-0.3	0.6	0.7	0.0	2.2	0.2	2.3
April	0.5	2.3	0.3	-0.6	0.4	0.9	0.2	2.0	0.4	2.4
May	0.2	2.4	0.4	-0.4	0.4	0.9	0.0	1.7	0.3	2.7
June	0.2	2.3	0.5	-0.1	0.4	0.8	0.2	1.5	0.2	2.7
July	-0.1	2.0	-0.1	-0.1	-0.2	0.7	-0.2	1.6	0.0	2.9
August	-0.2	1.7	-0.2	-0.2	0.1	1.0	0.4	1.9	-0.1	2.4
September	0.1	1.7	-0.2	-0.4	0.2	1.4	0.7	2.4	0.0	1.7
October	-0.3	1.6	0.0	-0.1	0.1	1.5	-0.2	2.0	0.2	2.1
November	-0.6	1.3	-0.2	0.3	-0.1	1.6	-0.1	2.1
December	-0.6	0.6	-0.4	0.5	0.1	2.0	-0.1	1.8

The Consumer Price Index for November 2018 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, December 12, 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 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. 2018	Sep. 2018	Oct. 2018	Oct. 2017	Aug. 2018	Sep. 2018
Expenditure category
All Items	243.605	243.640	244.163	2.1	0.2	0.2
All items (December 1977=100)	395.162	395.217	396.066	-	-	-
Food and beverages	251.033	251.273	251.239	0.9	0.1	0.0
Food	252.392	252.561	252.466	0.8	0.0	0.0
Food at home	238.259	238.207	238.189	-0.2	0.0	0.0
Cereal and bakery products	278.163	278.437	277.865	-	-0.1	-0.2
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	245.112	243.757	242.710	-	-1.0	-0.4
Dairy and related products	220.454	219.356	218.877	-	-0.7	-0.2
Fruits and vegetables	285.149	285.400	285.141	-	0.0	-0.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	164.971	165.410	167.430	-	1.5	1.2
Other food at home	209.417	210.183	210.175	-	0.4	0.0
Food away from home	276.255	276.736	276.530	2.1	0.1	-0.1
Alcoholic beverages	231.616	232.890	233.744	1.0	0.9	0.4
Housing	238.681	238.627	238.989	2.2	0.1	0.2
Shelter	274.581	275.119	275.920	2.7	0.5	0.3
Rent of primary residence	286.803	287.498	288.276	3.2	0.5	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)	276.412	277.038	277.819	2.7	0.5	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)	276.411	277.040	277.817	2.7	0.5	0.3
Fuels and utilities	240.366	237.359	235.374	-0.3	-2.1	-0.8
Household energy	194.147	190.981	188.748	-1.4	-2.8	-1.2
Energy services	194.285	190.939	188.647	-1.5	-2.9	-1.2
Electricity	193.147	190.756	187.500	-0.9	-2.9	-1.7
Utility (piped) gas service	185.522	175.843	180.423	-5.9	-2.7	2.6
Household furnishings and operations	121.743	121.586	121.955	1.3	0.2	0.3
Apparel	130.556	135.366	137.831	0.8	5.6	1.8
Transportation	214.636	212.987	214.437	4.8	-0.1	0.7
Private transportation	213.977	212.282	213.524	5.1	-0.2	0.6
New and used motor vehicles(2)	102.724	100.958	101.108	0.8	-1.6	0.1
New vehicles	153.618	153.034	152.485	0.7	-0.7	-0.4
New cars and trucks(2)(3)	104.592	104.192	103.821	0.7	-0.7	-0.4
New cars(3)	153.097	152.510	152.092	1.4	-0.7	-0.3
Used cars and trucks	142.571	136.551	137.906	0.6	-3.3	1.0
Motor fuel	239.439	239.321	242.376	14.2	1.2	1.3
Gasoline (all types)	238.227	238.033	240.989	14.2	1.2	1.2
Unleaded regular(3)	232.867	232.641	235.688	14.5	1.2	1.3
Unleaded midgrade(3)(4)	261.109	261.688	263.006	12.6	0.7	0.5
Unleaded premium(3)	257.782	257.734	259.851	11.7	0.8	0.8
Motor vehicle insurance(5)	944.864	946.764	956.145	-	1.2	1.0
Medical care	462.520	462.251	461.815	1.0	-0.2	-0.1
Medical care commodities	365.796	364.106	360.565	-1.5	-1.4	-1.0
Medical care services	494.979	495.209	495.862	1.6	0.2	0.1
Professional services	364.929	363.837	363.710	0.8	-0.3	0.0
Recreation(2)	118.505	119.052	118.512	1.0	0.0	-0.5
Education and communication(2)	132.929	133.443	133.319	0.5	0.3	-0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)	1,315.132	1,322.891	1,327.097	-	0.9	0.3
Other goods and services	426.185	426.409	428.279	1.4	0.5	0.4
Commodity and service group
All Items	243.605	243.640	244.163	2.1	0.2	0.2
Commodities	185.429	185.240	185.781	1.9	0.2	0.3
Commodities less food and beverages	153.958	153.630	154.344	2.4	0.3	0.5
Nondurables less food and beverages	204.654	206.119	207.688	4.5	1.5	0.8
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel	249.725	249.511	250.669	5.7	0.4	0.5
Durables	108.093	106.672	106.785	0.0	-1.2	0.1
Services	302.003	302.274	302.771	2.3	0.3	0.2
Rent of shelter(1)	281.891	282.464	283.298	2.7	0.5	0.3
Transportation services	357.381	357.432	360.639	3.4	0.9	0.9
Other services	341.910	343.782	343.476	1.7	0.5	-0.1
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	231.635	231.684	232.252	2.2	0.3	0.2
All items less food	241.994	242.009	242.623	2.3	0.3	0.3
All items less shelter	232.501	232.344	232.764	1.8	0.1	0.2
Commodities less food	156.398	156.104	156.824	2.3	0.3	0.5
Nondurables	226.792	227.699	228.536	2.7	0.8	0.4
Nondurables less food	206.004	207.459	208.991	4.3	1.4	0.7
Nondurables less food and apparel	247.111	247.013	248.142	5.4	0.4	0.5
Services less rent of shelter(1)	336.694	336.609	336.714	1.8	0.0	0.0
Services less medical care services	284.540	284.812	285.292	2.4	0.3	0.2
Energy	211.352	209.748	210.142	6.9	-0.6	0.2
All items less energy	248.001	248.221	248.760	1.7	0.3	0.2
All items less food and energy	247.642	247.871	248.518	1.8	0.4	0.3
Commodities less food and energy commodities	146.190	145.852	146.255	-0.1	0.0	0.3
Energy commodities	243.231	243.222	246.281	14.1	1.3	1.3
Services less energy services	313.364	314.033	314.836	2.5	0.5	0.3
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (2) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (5) Indexes on a December 1977=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.