The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the South declined 0.8 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The energy index fell 7.9 percent, while the index for all items less food and energy declined 0.5 percent. In contrast, the food index increased 1.4 percent in April.  (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 edged down 0.2 percent for the 12 months ending April. The 12-month decline in the all items index was attributed to an 18.5-percent drop in the energy index. The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.0 percent over the past year, while the food index advanced 2.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index increased 1.4 percent in April, led by a 2.4-percent jump in the food at home index. The food away from home index also rose in April, up 0.2 percent.   

The food index advanced 2.9 percent for the 12 months ending April, reflecting increases in the food at home (3.4 percent) and food away from home (2.3 percent) indexes.  

Energy

The energy index declined 7.9 percent in April, led by a 16.9-percent drop in the gasoline index. The electricity and the utility (piped) gas service indexes increased in April, up 0.2 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.     

The energy index fell 18.5 percent for the 12 months ending April, led by a 34.3-percent fall in the gasoline index. Over the past year, the electricity index edged down 0.3 percent, while the utility (piped) gas service index declined 1.7 percent.  

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy declined 0.5 percent in April. Several indexes declined over the month, most notably apparel (-4.7 percent) and motor vehicle insurance (-6.0 percent).  

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.0 percent over the past 12 months. The shelter index rose 2.6 percent over the 12-month span, and the medical care index rose 3.4 percent. In contrast, the apparel index declined 7.4 percent over the past year.

Geographic divisions

Additional price indexes are now available for the three divisions of the South. The all items CPI-U for the West South Central division fell 1.1 percent in April. The all items index for the East South Central and the South Atlantic divisions also declined in April, down 0.8 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.

Over the year, the all items index declined 0.8 percent in the West South Central division and 0.6 percent in the East South Central division. The all items index rose 0.2 percent in the South Atlantic division over the last 12 months.

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

Month	2017		2018		2019		2020
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.5	2.6	0.5	1.8	0.2	1.2	0.3	2.3
February	0.2	2.8	0.6	2.1	0.5	1.1	0.2	1.9
March	0.0	2.2	0.2	2.3	0.7	1.6	-0.1	1.1
April	0.2	2.0	0.4	2.4	0.5	1.8	-0.8	-0.2
May	0.0	1.7	0.3	2.7	-0.1	1.4
June	0.2	1.5	0.2	2.7	-0.1	1.1
July	-0.2	1.6	0.0	2.9	0.3	1.4
August	0.4	1.9	-0.1	2.4	-0.1	1.4
September	0.7	2.4	0.0	1.7	0.0	1.3
October	-0.2	2.0	0.2	2.1	0.2	1.3
November	-0.1	2.1	-0.3	1.9	0.0	1.6
December	-0.1	1.8	-0.5	1.5	0.0	2.1

The Consumer Price Index for May 2020 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 10, 2020.

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.

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