The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Midwest rose 0.2 percent in April, following a 1.0-percent advance in the prior month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that the overall increase was broad based, but was moderated by a 6.0-percent decline in prices for utility natural gas. Overall, energy costs edged down 0.2 percent. Food prices were 0.3 percent higher and the index for all items less food and energy increased 0.2 percent.

The CPI-U for the Midwest rose 2.3 percent from April 2011 to April 2012. The energy index, which includes motor fuel and household fuels, was down 0.4 percent while food prices advanced 3.5 percent. Excluding food and energy, the CPI-U increased 2.4 percent over the year. (See chart 1.)

Food

The food index increased 0.3 percent in April – the same rate as in the prior month. Prices for food away from home were up 0.4 percent over the month and costs for food at home rose 0.2 percent.

From April 2011 to April 2012, food prices increased 3.5 percent. Higher costs for food at home led the gain, advancing 3.9 percent. The index for food away from home also contributed to the advance with a 3.0-percent rise over the year.

Energy

The energy index for the Midwest turned down 0.2 percent in April, following a 6.6-percent jump in March. Prices for utility (piped) gas service decreased 6.0 percent – marking the ninth consecutive monthly decline and largest decrease in two years. Conversely, the index for electricity edged up 0.2 percent in April, and motor fuel prices advanced 0.8 percent over the month.

Energy prices were 0.4 percent lower than their April 2011 level, due primarily to a 15.3-percent drop in utility (piped) gas service costs. In contrast, the motor fuel index increased 1.8 percent and electricity prices were 3.3 percent higher than a year earlier.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent in April, slightly less than the 0.3-percent gain registered in each of the three previous months. Components registering higher prices over the month included shelter (0.2 percent), apparel (1.3 percent), and used cars and trucks (1.6 percent).

The annual rate of change for the index for all items less food and energy continued to accelerate, rising 2.4 percent from April 2011 to April 2012. This yearly increase was the largest since a 2.4-rise in August 2008. Higher costs for shelter (1.9 percent), medical care (3.7 percent), and apparel (7.0 percent) led the advance in April.

The Midwest Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) stood at 219.405 in April 2012. A typical market basket of goods and services that cost $100.00 in the 1982-84 base period cost $219.41 in April 2012. Because regional CPI data are not adjusted for seasonal price variation, consumers and businesses should be cautious in drawing conclusions about long-term retail price trends from short-term changes in the regional indexes.

Table A. Midwest Region CPI-U monthly and annual percent changes (not seasonally adjusted)

Month	2007		2008		2009		2010		2011		2012
	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual
January	0.1	1.2	0.6	4.3	0.6	-0.3	0.5	2.9	0.5	1.9	0.6	2.8
February	0.7	2.0	0.2	3.8	0.3	-0.2	0.0	2.5	0.3	2.2	0.2	2.7
March	1.0	2.3	0.9	3.7	0.3	-0.8	0.4	2.6	0.9	2.7	1.0	2.8
April	0.5	2.3	0.8	4.0	0.2	-1.5	0.2	2.7	0.7	3.3	0.2	2.3
May	0.9	2.9	0.9	4.0	0.4	-1.9	0.1	2.4	0.6	3.8
June	0.0	2.7	0.9	4.9	1.1	-1.7	0.0	1.2	0.0	3.9
July	-0.1	2.3	0.5	5.6	-0.3	-2.5	0.2	1.7	0.1	3.8
August	-0.2	1.8	-0.3	5.4	0.4	-1.8	0.2	1.5	0.2	3.8
September	0.6	3.1	0.0	4.8	0.0	-1.7	0.1	1.6	0.2	3.9
October	-0.1	3.7	-1.5	3.3	0.1	-0.2	0.0	1.5	-0.6	3.3
November	0.7	4.1	-2.1	0.5	0.3	2.2	0.1	1.2	0.0	3.3
December	-0.3	3.8	-1.1	-0.3	-0.3	3.0	0.2	1.8	-0.2	2.8

CPI-W

In April, the Midwest Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 216.160, up 0.2 percent over the month. The CPI-W increased 2.4 percent over the year.

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The May 2012 Consumer Price Index for the Midwest region is scheduled to be released on Thursday, June 14, 2012.

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 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 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 Midwest region is comprised of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

For personal assistance or further information on Consumer Price Indexes, as well as other Bureau products, contact the Mountain-Plains Information Office at (816) 285-7000 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. CT.

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Last Modified Date: May 15, 2012