KANSAS CITY – Prices in the Midwest Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.2 percent in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday.
The May increase was largely influenced by higher prices for all items less food and energy, which rose 0.2 percent. The food index and energy index were also both up 0.2 percent.
Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 2.7 percent. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.0 percent and the food index rose 1.5 percent. Energy prices were up 1.4 percent, largely the result of increasing prices for electricity. (See chart 1.)
Food
Food prices rose 0.2 percent for the month of May. Prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 0.3 percent, and prices for food at home (grocery store prices) advanced 0.1 percent for the same period. Within the index for food at home, cereals and bakery products had the largest influence on the rise, up 0.6 percent over the month.
The food index rose 1.5 percent over the year, largely the result of increasing prices for food away from home (+3.4 percent). The index for food at home advanced 0.4 percent, led by an advance in the nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials index (+2.9 percent). Somewhat offsetting grocery store price increases, the index for fruits and vegetables declined 2.2 percent in the same period.
Energy
The energy index was up 0.2 percent over the month, mainly due to higher prices for electricity (+1.9 percent), but rising natural gas service prices also contributed (+0.3 percent). Decreasing prices for gasoline (-0.6 percent) mostly offset rising prices in the other categories over the same period.
From May 2023 to May 2024, the energy index advanced 1.4 percent, largely due to higher prices for electricity (+5.0 percent). The index for gasoline fell 0.2 percent, and prices for natural gas service declined 3.2 percent during the past year.
All items less food and energy
The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent in May. Higher prices for shelter (+0.8 percent), public transportation, other goods and services (+0.3), and used cars and trucks (+0.5 percent) were largely offset by lower prices for recreation (-0.9 percent), household furnishings and operations (-0.4 percent), and apparel (-0.4 percent).
Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.0 percent. The main contributors to the increase included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+6.5 percent), rent of primary residence (+6.1 percent), and medical care (+2.5 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in used cars and trucks (-8.8 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-3.4 percent).