KANSAS CITY, Kans. – Prices in the Midwest Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.3 percent in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported.
The all items less food and energy index rose 0.5 percent in July, mainly due to an increase in the index for shelter. Food prices advanced 0.4 percent in July, while energy prices decreased 1.3 percent.
Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 2.9 percent.
The index for all items less food and energy increased 5.0 percent over the year, while the food index also rose 5.0 percent. Energy prices decreased 16.5 percent, largely the result of a decline in the price of gasoline. (See chart 1.)
Food
Food prices advanced 0.4 percent for the month of July. Prices for food at home (grocery store prices) advanced 0.5 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 0.1 percent over the same period. Within the food at home category, prices paid for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+1.1 percent) and nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (+1.3 percent) contributed the most to the over-the-month increase.
Over the year, food prices advanced 5.0 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 7.1 percent, while prices for food at home advanced 3.8 percent since a year ago, with all six major grocery store group indexes contributing to the rise. The other food at home index (which includes sugars, sweets, fats, and oils) contributed the most to the rise (+5.6 percent).
Energy
The energy index fell 1.3 percent over the month. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-2.2 percent), but electricity prices (-1.2 percent) also contributed. A rise in the index for natural gas service (+1.2 percent) slightly offset the decline.
Energy prices were down 16.5 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-22.9 percent). Prices for natural gas service also contributed to the decline, falling 25.6 percent over the year. Slightly offsetting the decline were electricity prices, which rose 3.3 percent during the past year.
All items less food and energy
The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.5 percent in July. Higher prices for owners’ equivalent rent (+0.7 percent), lodging away from home, and other goods and services (+0.8 percent) were the largest contributors to the increase. Lower prices for public transportation, recreation (-0.2 percent), and household furnishings and operations (-0.2 percent) slightly offset the rise in the index.
Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 5.0 percent. Components contributing most to the increase included the three major shelter components: owners’ equivalent rent of residence (+7.2 percent), lodging away from home, and rent of primary residence (+7.0 percent). Declines in the indexes for used cars and trucks (-5.0 percent) and medical care services (-1.1 percent) partly offset the increase during the same period.