The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the South declined 0.1 percent in June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The energy index fell 2.5 percent and the food index edged down 0.2 percent from May to June. Since May, the all items less food and energy index edged up 0.2 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The all items CPI-U for the South increased 1.1 percent from June 2018 to June 2019. Over the year, the all items less food and energy index advanced 1.8 percent and the food index rose 1.6 percent. The energy index declined 5.4 percent over the 12-month period. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index edged down 0.2 percent in June, reflecting a 0.6-percent decline in the food at home index. The food away from home index rose 0.4 percent in June.

The food index advanced 1.6 percent since June 2018, led by a 3.2-percent increase in the food away from home index. The food at home index edged up 0.3 percent over the 12-month period.

Energy

The energy index fell 2.5 percent in June, reflecting a 6.1-percent decline in the gasoline index. The electricity index increased 2.3 percent over the month, while the utility (piped) gas service index was little changed from May, up 0.1 percent in June.  

The energy index was down 5.4 percent for the 12 months ending June 2019, a reflection of declines in the gasoline (-9.4 percent), electricity (-0.4 percent), and the utility (piped) gas service (-1.4 percent) indexes.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.2 percent in June. Several categories recorded increases, most notably shelter (0.4 percent), household furnishings and operations (1.6 percent), and used cars and trucks (1.4 percent). In contrast, apparel (-1.5 percent) and recreation (-0.5 percent) were among the indexes that declined from May to June.  

Since June 2018, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.8 percent, reflecting a 3.3-percent increase in the shelter index.

Geographic divisions

Additional price indexes are now available for the three divisions of the South. From May to June, the all items CPI-U edged down 0.2 percent in the South Atlantic division. The all items index in the West South Central division was slightly changed from May, up 0.1 percent in June. In the East South Central division, the all items index was unchanged over the month.   

Over the year, the all items index advanced 1.6 percent in the South Atlantic division. Since June 2018, the all items index rose 0.7 percent in the West South Central division and edged up 0.3 percent in the East South Central division.

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

Month	2015		2016		2017		2018		2019
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	-0.7	-0.4	0.0	1.2	0.5	2.6	0.5	1.8	0.2	1.2
February	0.5	-0.3	0.1	0.7	0.2	2.8	0.6	2.1	0.5	1.1
March	0.6	-0.3	0.6	0.7	0.0	2.2	0.2	2.3	0.7	1.6
April	0.3	-0.6	0.4	0.9	0.2	2.0	0.4	2.4	0.5	1.8
May	0.4	-0.4	0.4	0.9	0.0	1.7	0.3	2.7	-0.1	1.4
June	0.5	-0.1	0.4	0.8	0.2	1.5	0.2	2.7	-0.1	1.1
July	-0.1	-0.1	-0.2	0.7	-0.2	1.6	0.0	2.9
August	-0.2	-0.2	0.1	1.0	0.4	1.9	-0.1	2.4
September	-0.2	-0.4	0.2	1.4	0.7	2.4	0.0	1.7
October	0.0	-0.1	0.1	1.5	-0.2	2.0	0.2	2.1
November	-0.2	0.3	-0.1	1.6	-0.1	2.1	-0.3	1.9
December	-0.4	0.5	0.1	2.0	-0.1	1.8	-0.5	1.5

The Consumer Price Index for July 2019 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, August 13, 2019.

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-
	Apr. 2019	May 2019	Jun. 2019	Jun. 2018	Apr. 2019	May 2019
Expenditure category
All Items	246.847	246.667	246.515	1.1	-0.1	-0.1
All items (December 1977=100)	400.419	400.128	399.882	-	-	-
Food and beverages	255.061	254.705	254.350	1.7	-0.3	-0.1
Food	256.387	255.978	255.594	1.6	-0.3	-0.2
Food at home	240.477	239.622	238.216	0.3	-0.9	-0.6
Cereal and bakery products	280.806	280.568	280.509	0.9	-0.1	0.0
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	242.725	243.770	242.066	-0.6	-0.3	-0.7
Dairy and related products	221.183	219.780	220.435	1.0	-0.3	0.3
Fruits and vegetables	293.617	287.366	282.523	-0.4	-3.8	-1.7
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	169.856	169.855	166.934	1.8	-1.7	-1.7
Other food at home	210.464	210.338	210.788	0.3	0.2	0.2
Food away from home	282.804	283.012	284.053	3.2	0.4	0.4
Alcoholic beverages	236.128	236.554	236.610	2.1	0.2	0.0
Housing	242.715	243.136	244.805	2.8	0.9	0.7
Shelter	280.555	281.372	282.573	3.3	0.7	0.4
Rent of primary residence	293.032	293.788	294.996	3.5	0.7	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)	282.154	282.696	283.865	3.2	0.6	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)	282.153	282.698	283.870	3.2	0.6	0.4
Fuels and utilities	236.765	236.775	240.276	-0.1	1.5	1.5
Household energy	189.722	189.698	193.370	-0.7	1.9	1.9
Energy services	189.806	189.793	193.668	-0.5	2.0	2.0
Electricity	187.991	188.298	192.670	-0.4	2.5	2.3
Utility (piped) gas service	186.107	183.880	183.978	-1.4	-1.1	0.1
Household furnishings and operations	124.156	123.579	125.599	3.1	1.2	1.6
Apparel	136.487	135.596	133.527	-3.1	-2.2	-1.5
Transportation	214.361	213.605	210.716	-1.9	-1.7	-1.4
Private transportation	213.339	212.324	209.434	-2.0	-1.8	-1.4
New and used motor vehicles(2)	102.708	101.927	102.289	0.5	-0.4	0.4
New vehicles	154.906	154.037	153.715	0.7	-0.8	-0.2
New cars and trucks(2)(3)	105.467	104.876	104.643	0.7	-0.8	-0.2
New cars(3)	154.950	153.797	153.831	1.3	-0.7	0.0
Used cars and trucks	141.706	139.834	141.785	0.8	0.1	1.4
Motor fuel	234.413	234.131	219.998	-9.3	-6.1	-6.0
Gasoline (all types)	233.301	232.977	218.734	-9.4	-6.2	-6.1
Unleaded regular(3)	227.884	227.542	213.270	-9.6	-6.4	-6.3
Unleaded midgrade(3)(4)	256.958	256.452	242.758	-8.2	-5.5	-5.3
Unleaded premium(3)	253.801	253.724	241.315	-7.3	-4.9	-4.9
Motor vehicle insurance(5)	949.752	944.421	948.277	0.7	-0.2	0.4
Medical care	470.483	471.203	470.823	0.9	0.1	-0.1
Medical care commodities	357.944	357.919	355.674	-4.6	-0.6	-0.6
Medical care services	508.458	509.438	509.713	2.3	0.2	0.1
Professional services	366.274	366.107	366.162	0.1	0.0	0.0
Recreation(2)	121.906	120.480	119.903	1.7	-1.6	-0.5
Education and communication(2)	132.496	132.605	132.851	0.3	0.3	0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)	1,330.655	1,332.079	1,334.325	2.7	0.3	0.2
Other goods and services	428.586	429.763	429.206	0.6	0.1	-0.1
Commodity and service group
All Items	246.847	246.667	246.515	1.1	-0.1	-0.1
Commodities	186.863	186.256	184.721	-0.8	-1.1	-0.8
Commodities less food and beverages	154.428	153.763	151.894	-2.2	-1.6	-1.2
Nondurables less food and beverages	204.815	204.604	199.459	-4.5	-2.6	-2.5
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel	246.911	247.045	240.140	-4.9	-2.7	-2.8
Durables	108.713	107.825	108.178	0.6	-0.5	0.3
Services	307.121	307.399	308.723	2.4	0.5	0.4
Rent of shelter(1)	288.109	288.952	290.195	3.3	0.7	0.4
Transportation services	360.450	360.953	361.128	0.6	0.2	0.0
Other services	346.329	345.063	344.677	1.4	-0.5	-0.1
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	234.628	234.404	234.265	1.2	-0.2	-0.1
All items less food	245.120	244.975	244.857	1.0	-0.1	0.0
All items less shelter	234.716	234.159	233.494	0.2	-0.5	-0.3
Commodities less food	156.959	156.315	154.478	-2.0	-1.6	-1.2
Nondurables	228.733	228.455	225.494	-1.4	-1.4	-1.3
Nondurables less food	206.390	206.212	201.337	-4.1	-2.4	-2.4
Nondurables less food and apparel	244.878	245.034	238.702	-4.4	-2.5	-2.6
Services less rent of shelter(1)	340.656	340.259	341.725	1.5	0.3	0.4
Services less medical care services	288.971	289.193	290.585	2.4	0.6	0.5
Energy	206.745	206.597	201.518	-5.4	-2.5	-2.5
All items less energy	252.140	251.957	252.362	1.8	0.1	0.2
All items less food and energy	251.812	251.666	252.205	1.8	0.2	0.2
Commodities less food and energy commodities	147.543	146.842	146.715	-0.4	-0.6	-0.1
Energy commodities	238.169	237.877	223.645	-9.2	-6.1	-6.0
Services less energy services	319.531	319.841	320.880	2.6	0.4	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.