Consumer Price Index, Northeast Region – June 2011 (PDF)

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Northeast region inched up 0.1 percent in June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that increases in both the all items less food and energy index and the food index were nearly offset by a decrease in the energy index since May 2011. Within the all items less food and energy index, higher prices for shelter led the recent advance. (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 increased 3.4 percent—the largest over-the-year advance since October 2008. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index jumped 19.7 percent over the year. Prices were also higher for both all items less food and energy (1.6 percent) and food (3.3 percent) since June 2010. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index rose 0.5 percent in June. Prices for food at home advanced 0.6 percent and those for food away from home increased 0.4 percent over the month.

Over the year, the food index rose 3.3 percent as prices for the food at home and food away from home components increased 4.1 and 2.4 percent, respectively. The 12-month advance in the food index was the largest since April 2009.

Energy

Dominated by lower gasoline prices, the energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, decreased 2.5 percent over the month. Following eight months of uninterrupted increases totaling 49.8 percent, gasoline prices dropped 4.9 percent in June—the largest one-month decrease in a year. Utility (piped) gas service prices declined for the fourth straight month, down 7.3 percent since February and 0.7 percent since May. Moderating the decline in the energy index was a seasonal increase of 1.5 percent in electricity prices, which normally rise in June as summer rate schedules are introduced, then decline in October.

Despite its recent decline, the energy index advanced 19.7 percent over the year, due largely to a 37.7-percent jump in gasoline prices. Both the electricity and utility (piped) gas service indexes posted 12-month decreases, down 1.3 and 2.7 percent, respectively.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.3 percent since May. Higher prices for shelter (0.6 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (1.2 percent) led the overall rise. A smaller-than-usual seasonal decrease in apparel prices, down 1.5 percent, helped to moderate the one-month advance in the all items less food and energy index.

Over the last 12 months, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.6 percent. Higher prices for shelter (1.3 percent) led the overall increase. Partially offsetting this and other advances was a 1.9-percent decline in recreation prices.

The July 2011 Consumer Price Index for the Northeast region is scheduled to be released on August 18, 2011, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

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

Month	2006		2007		2008		2009		2010		2011
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	1.0	4.1	0.3	2.3	0.4	3.9	0.2	0.5	0.4	3.0	0.4	1.6
February	0.3	3.9	0.4	2.4	0.4	4.0	0.6	0.7	0.0	2.5	0.5	2.0
March	0.6	3.3	0.8	2.6	0.8	3.9	0.2	0.2	0.3	2.6	0.8	2.5
April	0.9	3.8	0.5	2.2	0.5	3.9	0.2	-0.1	0.2	2.5	0.5	2.8
May	0.5	4.6	0.5	2.3	0.9	4.3	0.1	-0.8	0.2	2.6	0.5	3.2
June	0.5	5.1	0.4	2.3	1.1	5.0	0.8	-1.2	-0.1	1.7	0.1	3.4
July	0.4	4.6	0.2	2.0	0.8	5.7	0.1	-1.9	0.0	1.6
August	0.3	4.5	-0.2	1.6	-0.3	5.5	0.3	-1.2	0.1	1.4
September	-0.8	2.6	-0.1	2.4	-0.4	5.2	0.1	-0.7	-0.1	1.2
October	-0.5	1.7	0.2	3.1	-0.9	4.0	0.0	0.2	0.3	1.5
November	-0.2	2.3	0.6	4.0	-1.6	1.7	0.2	2.0	0.2	1.5
December	0.2	3.0	0.0	3.8	-0.9	0.7	-0.1	2.8	0.0	1.6

 

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 87 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 32 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 4,000 housing units and approximately 26,000 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/homch17_a.htm.

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 Northeast region is comprised of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number:  1-800-877-8339.

For personal assistance or further information on Consumer Price Indexes, as well as other Bureau products, contact the Mid-Atlantic Information Office at (215) 597-3282 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods, Northeast Region, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from
	Historical data	Apr. 2011	May 2011	Jun. 2011	Jun. 2010	Apr. 2011	May 2011
All items		240.267	241.566	241.690	3.4	0.6	0.1
All items (December 1977 = 100)		378.347	380.393	380.588
Food and beverages		231.284	232.474	233.553	3.2	1.0	0.5
Food		230.790	232.053	233.202	3.3	1.0	0.5
Food at home		229.242	231.099	232.427	4.1	1.4	0.6
Food away from home		235.801	236.268	237.185	2.4	0.6	0.4
Alcoholic beverages		236.659	236.830	236.952	2.0	0.1	0.1
Housing		246.734	247.442	248.683	1.6	0.8	0.5
Shelter		294.098	294.907	296.810	1.3	0.9	0.6
Rent of primary residence (1)		291.612	291.893	292.746	2.0	0.4	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of residences (1) (2)		305.728	306.204	307.015	0.9	0.4	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence (1) (2)		305.668	306.143	306.958	0.9	0.4	0.3
Fuels and utilities		224.674	224.129	224.560	4.5	-0.1	0.2
Household energy		207.076	206.393	206.845	4.6	-0.1	0.2
Energy services (1) (3)		194.448	194.153	195.818	-1.7	0.7	0.9
Electricity (1)		187.350	190.703	193.495	-1.3	3.3	1.5
Utility (piped) gas service (1)		198.652	189.351	188.112	-2.7	-5.3	-0.7
Household furnishings and operations		126.345	127.689	127.396	0.4	0.8	-0.2
Apparel		125.177	124.472	122.579	3.2	-2.1	-1.5
Transportation		213.683	217.959	215.867	12.3	1.0	-1.0
Private transportation		207.201	211.647	209.252	12.9	1.0	-1.1
New and used motor vehicles (4)		97.638	98.488	99.699	3.3	2.1	1.2
New vehicles		139.888	140.948	141.582	3.2	1.2	0.4
New cars and trucks (4) (5)		96.937	97.668	98.114	3.2	1.2	0.5
New cars (5)		135.896	137.405	138.379	2.7	1.8	0.7
Used cars and trucks		152.795	155.539	159.467	6.6	4.4	2.5
Motor fuel		313.983	330.328	314.376	37.5	0.1	-4.8
Gasoline (all types)		312.891	329.550	313.496	37.7	0.2	-4.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular (4)		315.446	332.273	315.567	38.2	0.0	-5.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (5) (6)		316.104	333.103	317.999	36.6	0.6	-4.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium (5)		298.619	314.149	300.646	35.4	0.7	-4.3
Medical care		421.215	421.873	421.695	3.2	0.1	0.0
Medical care commodities		355.229	355.582	354.965	4.3	-0.1	-0.2
Medical care services		437.354	438.119	438.122	2.8	0.2	0.0
Professional services		335.405	336.270	336.272	1.8	0.3	0.0
Recreation (4)		117.308	117.810	117.779	-1.9	0.4	0.0
Education and communication (4)		133.051	132.883	132.844	-0.1	-0.2	0.0
Other goods and services		415.951	416.065	415.687	2.3	-0.1	-0.1
Commodity and service group
Commodities		190.939	192.893	191.774	6.8	0.4	-0.6
Commodities less food and beverages		165.711	167.905	165.906	9.0	0.1	-1.2
Nondurables less food and beverages		215.557	218.852	214.327	13.4	-0.6	-2.1
Durables		109.932	110.953	111.520	1.6	1.4	0.5
Services		288.740	289.421	290.731	1.3	0.7	0.5
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		222.429	223.923	223.383	4.4	0.4	-0.2
All items less medical care		232.208	233.520	233.654	3.4	0.6	0.1
Commodities less food		168.553	170.701	168.752	8.7	0.1	-1.1
Nondurables		224.988	227.350	225.353	8.3	0.2	-0.9
Nondurables less food		216.782	219.911	215.633	12.7	-0.5	-1.9
Services less rent of shelter (2)		293.288	293.848	294.515	1.3	0.4	0.2
Services less medical care services		278.259	278.929	280.292	1.2	0.7	0.5
Energy		252.063	258.577	252.096	19.7	0.0	-2.5
All items less energy		241.368	242.139	242.949	1.9	0.7	0.3
All items less food and energy		244.808	245.493	246.246	1.6	0.6	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) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (3) This index series was formerly titled Gas (piped) and electricity. (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.
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

 

Last Modified Date: July 18, 2011