BLS U S Bureau of Labor Statistics : Consumer Price Index, Midwest Region – December 2018

Prices in the Midwest down 0.4 percent in December and 1.3 percent higher over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Midwest decreased for the second month in a row, down 0.4 percent in December after declining 0.6 percent in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The December movement was led by a 12.0-percent drop in prices for gasoline. Overall, energy costs were down 4.7 percent for the month. Prices for food increased 0.2 percent and the index for all items less food and energy was unchanged for the second consecutive month. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The CPI-U for the Midwest rose 1.3 percent in 2018. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index, which includes motor fuel and household fuels, declined 4.9 percent. Food prices increased 0.8 percent. Excluding food and energy, the CPI-U was up 2.0 percent from December 2017 to December 2018. (See table 1.)

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Food

Food prices in the Midwest were up 0.2 percent in December led by higher prices for food away from home (0.3 percent). Prices for food at home were little changed (0.1 percent).

From December 2017 to December 2018, the index for food rose 0.8 percent. Prices for food away from home were up 2.5 percent and were responsible for the increase. Prices for food at home were 0.4 percent lower over the year.

Energy

The energy index was down 4.7 percent in December after declining 7.0 percent in the prior month. A 12.0-percent drop in prices for gasoline led the December decline. In November, gasoline prices fell 10.5 percent. Utility (piped) gas service costs registered their largest increase since March 2014, jumping 11.3 percent in December 2018. Electricity prices turned up 0.2 percent after decreasing in each of the three prior months.

Energy costs were down 4.9 percent in 2018. Prices for gasoline declined 10.2 percent from December 2017 to December 2018. Electricity prices were down 0.9 percent, but costs for utility (piped) gas service were 4.0 percent higher than a year ago.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy for the Midwest was unchanged for the second month in a row. Among the expenditure categories registering higher costs were new and used motor vehicles (0.9 percent) and recreation (0.6 percent), while prices for apparel (-3.7 percent) were among those that declined over the month.

The index for all items less food and energy was up 2.0 percent from December 2017 to December 2018. Higher costs for shelter (3.4 percent) contributed to the increase.

The Midwest Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) stood at 233.458 in December 2018. A typical market basket of goods and services that cost $100.00 in the 1982-84 base period cost $233.46 in December 2018.

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	0.5	1.4	-0.6	-0.3	0.3	0.8	0.7	2.2	0.6	1.6
February	0.6	0.9	0.3	-0.5	0.0	0.4	0.2	2.4	0.2	1.7
March	0.9	1.5	0.6	-0.9	0.6	0.5	0.1	1.9	0.2	1.8
April	0.3	1.9	0.1	-1.1	0.4	0.8	0.4	1.8	0.4	1.8
May	0.2	1.6	0.4	-0.8	0.4	0.8	0.0	1.4	0.5	2.3
June	0.5	1.7	0.5	-0.7	0.6	0.8	0.0	0.9	0.2	2.5
July	-0.3	1.8	0.0	-0.5	-0.5	0.4	0.0	1.3	0.0	2.4
August	-0.2	1.6	0.0	-0.3	0.1	0.6	0.3	1.5	0.0	2.1
September	0.1	1.6	-0.3	-0.8	0.2	1.1	0.3	1.5	0.1	1.9
October	-0.5	1.6	-0.1	-0.3	-0.1	1.0	-0.2	1.5	0.1	2.2
November	-0.6	1.2	-0.5	-0.2	-0.3	1.2	0.2	1.9	-0.6	1.4
December	-0.7	0.7	-0.6	0.0	0.1	1.8	-0.2	1.7	-0.4	1.3

CPI-W

In December, the Midwest Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 227.025. The CPI-W declined 0.6 percent in December and rose 1.1 percent over the year.

The January 2019 Consumer Price Index for the Midwest region is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, February 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 approximately 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 Midwest region is comprised of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: [phone]; Federal Relay Service: [phone].

Expenditure category	Indexes			Percent change from
	Oct. 2018	Nov. 2018	Dec. 2018	Dec. 2017	Oct. 2018	Nov. 2018
All items	235.680	234.292	233.458	1.3	-0.9	-0.4
All items (December 1977 = 100)	383.464	381.206	379.849
Food and beverages	244.608	244.088	244.469	0.9	-0.1	0.2
Food	243.882	243.269	243.670	0.8	-0.1	0.2
Food at home	226.052	224.384	224.499	-0.4	-0.7	0.1
Cereals and bakery products	261.222	259.140	256.376	-0.7	-1.9	-1.1
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	244.750	244.133	241.678	-1.5	-1.3	-1.0
Dairy and related products	193.957	189.794	191.886	-1.9	-1.1	1.1
Fruits and vegetables	269.882	263.345	270.970	0.8	0.4	2.9
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	161.784	160.307	160.776	1.2	-0.6	0.3
Other food at home	196.590	197.767	196.121	-0.3	-0.2	-0.8
Food away from home	273.635	274.604	275.440	2.5	0.7	0.3
Alcoholic beverages	252.466	253.211	253.315	1.5	0.3	0.0
Housing	228.903	228.707	229.553	2.9	0.3	0.4
Shelter	273.686	274.129	274.410	3.4	0.3	0.1
Rent of primary residence	273.290	274.266	274.928	3.2	0.6	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of residences	278.413	279.316	280.004	3.5	0.6	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence	278.382	279.283	279.963	3.5	0.6	0.2
Fuels and utilities	221.705	216.900	222.649	1.2	0.4	2.7
Household energy	179.599	174.445	180.410	0.5	0.5	3.4
Energy services	185.778	180.485	187.152	0.7	0.7	3.7
Electricity	201.354	196.462	196.912	-0.9	-2.2	0.2
Utility (piped) gas service	148.866	143.269	159.476	4.0	7.1	11.3
Household furnishings and operations	113.991	114.559	114.288	2.0	0.3	-0.2
Apparel	121.445	117.674	113.291	-0.7	-6.7	-3.7
Transportation	205.094	200.177	194.978	-1.0	-4.9	-2.6
Private transportation	200.572	195.584	190.450	-0.9	-5.0	-2.6
New and used motor vehicles	95.721	96.525	97.425	1.8	1.8	0.9
New vehicles	135.636	136.792	136.733	-0.6	0.8	0.0
New cars and trucks	95.896	96.699	96.650	-0.5	0.8	-0.1
New cars	132.721	133.603	133.817	0.1	0.8	0.2
Used cars and trucks	135.414	136.638	136.799	0.9	1.0	0.1
Motor fuel	251.281	225.285	198.541	-9.9	-21.0	-11.9
Gasoline (all types)	249.530	223.312	196.431	-10.2	-21.3	-12.0
Gasoline, unleaded regular	243.090	217.055	190.436	-10.5	-21.7	-12.3
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade	287.074	260.132	228.371	-9.3	-20.4	-12.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium	272.486	249.154	226.182	-6.9	-17.0	-9.2
Motor vehicle insurance	742.727	741.088	738.793	2.8	-0.5	-0.3
Medical care	486.365	487.769	487.717	1.6	0.3	0.0
Medical care commodities	395.429	396.311	395.354	1.1	0.0	-0.2
Medical care services	516.805	518.385	518.640	1.7	0.4	0.0
Professional services	416.133	416.787	416.817	0.1	0.2	0.0
Recreation	120.033	119.929	120.650	-0.7	0.5	0.6
Education and communication	138.305	137.491	137.412	-0.4	-0.6	-0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and child care	1,197.033	1,197.208	1,196.868	1.3	0.0	0.0
Other goods and services	427.530	428.857	429.502	2.8	0.5	0.2
Commodity and service group
Commodities	180.185	177.715	175.167	-0.7	-2.8	-1.4
Commodities less food and beverages	148.792	145.696	142.160	-1.7	-4.5	-2.4
Nondurables less food and beverages	201.043	192.814	184.244	-2.9	-8.4	-4.4
Durables	100.177	100.892	101.137	-0.1	1.0	0.2
Services	292.889	292.654	293.637	2.5	0.3	0.3
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	224.358	222.327	221.100	0.4	-1.5	-0.6
All items less medical care	223.814	222.293	221.421	1.2	-1.1	-0.4
Commodities less food	152.034	149.020	145.560	-1.5	-4.3	-2.3
Nondurables	222.795	218.112	213.667	-0.9	-4.1	-2.0
Nondurables less food	203.730	196.010	187.933	-2.6	-7.8	-4.1
Services less rent of shelter	322.559	321.569	323.350	1.7	0.2	0.6
Services less medical care services	276.189	275.819	276.856	2.7	0.2	0.4
Energy	212.364	197.513	188.207	-4.9	-11.4	-4.7
All items less energy	240.875	240.842	240.861	1.8	0.0	0.0
All items less food and energy	241.052	241.121	241.071	2.0	0.0	0.0
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.