The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Northeast region edged up 0.3 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Deborah A. Brown, the Bureau's regional commissioner, noted that the recent advance reflected one-month increases in the indexes for all items less food and energy (0.2 percent) and energy (1.2 percent). The food index was unchanged over the month. (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 2.3 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The all items less food and energy component advanced 2.4 percent and the food component rose 3.4 percent over the year. Energy prices inched down 0.1 percent since April 2011. (See table 1.)

Food

In April, the food index remained unchanged for the third straight month. A decrease in food at home prices, which inched down 0.1 percent over the month, was offset by higher prices for food away from home, which inched up 0.1 percent.

Over the year, the food index advanced 3.4 percent. Prices for both the food at home and food away from home components increased since last April, up 3.9 and 2.8 percent, respectively.

Energy

The energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, increased 1.2 percent in April due entirely to a 3.5-percent rise in the gasoline index. Gasoline prices have advanced for four straight months, up 17.4 percent since December 2011. Moderating the recent increase in the energy index, prices fell for both utility (piped) gas service (-2.3 percent) and electricity (-0.8 percent) over the month.

The energy index inched down 0.1 percent over the year. Lower prices for both utility (piped) gas service and electricity, down 11.1 and 3.0 percent, respectively, were nearly offset by a 4.2-percent advance in gasoline prices since April 2011.

All items less food and energy

Over the month, the all items less food and energy index edged up 0.2 percent. The recent rise reflected widespread price increases among the components of this group, including the shelter index, up 0.1 percent, as well as the new and used motor vehicles index and the medical care services index, up 0.6 percent each.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.4 percent over the year. The 12-month advance was led by higher shelter prices, particularly those for owners' equivalent rent of residences, up 2.3 percent each. Widespread price increases for other components, including medical care (3.5 percent) and apparel (5.5 percent), also contributed to the rise in the all items less food and energy index since April 2011.

The May 2012 Consumer Price Index for the Northeast region is scheduled to be released on June 14, 2012, 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	2007		2008		2009		2010		2011		2011
	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual
January	0.3	2.3	0.4	3.9	0.2	0.5	0.4	3.0	0.4	1.6	0.4	2.9
February	0.4	2.4	0.4	4.0	0.6	0.7	0.0	2.5	0.5	2.0	0.4	2.8
March	0.8	2.6	0.8	3.9	0.2	0.2	0.3	2.6	0.8	2.5	0.5	2.5
April	0.5	2.2	0.5	3.9	0.2	-0.1	0.2	2.5	0.5	2.8	0.3	2.3
May	0.5	2.3	0.9	4.3	0.1	-0.8	0.2	2.6	0.5	3.2
June	0.4	2.3	1.1	5.0	0.8	-1.2	-0.1	1.7	0.1	3.4
July	0.2	2.0	0.8	5.7	0.1	-1.9	0.0	1.6	0.2	3.6
August	-0.2	1.6	-0.3	5.5	0.3	-1.2	0.1	1.4	0.3	3.8
September	-0.1	2.4	-0.4	5.2	0.1	-0.7	-0.1	1.2	0.1	4.0
October	0.2	3.1	-0.9	4.0	0.0	0.2	0.3	1.5	-0.1	3.6
November	0.6	4.0	-1.6	1.7	0.2	2.0	0.2	1.5	-0.1	3.2
December	0.0	3.8	-0.9	0.7	-0.1	2.8	0.0	1.6	-0.3	2.9

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 88 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 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.

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