KANSAS CITY – Prices in the Midwest Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.2% in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.
The all items less food and energy index increased 0.2%, while the food index was up 0.3% and the energy index advanced 0.4%.
Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 2.4%. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.9%, while food prices advanced 2.6%. Energy prices decreased 3.0% over the year. (See chart 1.)
Food
The index for food fell 0.2 percent for the month of April. Prices for food at home (grocery store purchases) were down 0.6 percent, with 5 of the 6 major grocery store categories decreasing. The index for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) advanced 0.4 percent for the same period. Within the food at home index, the indexes for other food at home (-0.8 percent) and cereals and bakery products (-1.5 percent) led declines. Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials saw a 0.8-percent increase over the month.
Over the year, food prices rose 2.4 percent. The index for food away from home was up 3.6 percent, and the index for food at home advanced 1.7 percent. Within the food at home index, four of the six grocery store indexes were up over the year, with meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (+6.6 percent) contributing most to the increase.
Energy
The energy index rose 1.7 percent over the month, largely due to increasing prices for gasoline (+3.5 percent) and natural gas service (+4.6 percent). Decreasing electricity prices somewhat moderated the rise, declining by 2.0 percent over the same period.
From April 2024 to April 2025, energy prices fell 3.2 percent, mainly due to lower gasoline prices (-12.3 percent). Rising prices for natural gas service (+21.9 percent) and electricity (+1.6 percent) partially offset the decline.
All items less food and energy
The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.1 percent in April. The indexes for owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+0.4 percent), new and used motor vehicles (+0.5 percent), and medical care services (+0.3 percent) led increases within the all items less food and energy index. Increases were largely offset by declines in prices for apparel (-2.5 percent) and lodging away from home.
The index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.9 percent over the year, mainly due to an increase in prices for owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+5.3 percent). The indexes for rent of primary residences (+5.3 percent) and medical care services (+2.0 percent) also saw notable increases.