Prices in the South up 0.9 percent in February and 3.7 percent over the past year.

Amidst the constant buzz surrounding inflation dominating headlines, a spotlight turns to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), shedding light on its impact on the lives of those residing in the South. Delving into data freshly released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we uncover the intricate ways the CPI influences our daily existence, offering a glimpse into its ripple effects across the region.

Consumer Price Index, South Region — February 2024

Prices in the South up 0.9 percent in February and 3.7 percent over the past year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the South rose 0.9 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The shelter index continued to rise in February and was a leading contributor to the monthly all items increase. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The all items CPI-U for the South increased 3.7 percent for the 12 months ending in February, after increasing 3.4 percent for the 12-month period ending in January. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less and food and energy advanced 4.4 percent over the past 12 months. The food index continued to increase, up 2.4 percent over the past year. In contrast, the energy index declined 1.3 percent over the last 12 months. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index rose 0.4 percent in February, led by a 0.5-percent increase in the food at home index. Five of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased over the month, including other food at home (+1.0 percent) and cereals and bakery products (+0.8 percent). In contrast, the index for dairy and related products declined 0.8 percent in February. The index for food away from home increased 0.2 percent in February.  

The food index advanced 2.4 percent for the 12 months ending in February, reflecting increases in the food away from home (+4.7 percent) and food at home (+1.1 percent) indexes. Four of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased over the past 12 months. The index for other food at home increased 2.9 percent over the past year. The index for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials increased 2.0 percent for the 12 months ending in February, and the index for cereals and bakery products rose 1.8 percent over that period. The fruits and vegetables index rose 1.3 percent over the past year.

Energy

The energy index rose 2.7 percent in February, reflecting a 5.5-percent increase in the gasoline index. The indexes for electricity and natural gas changed little over the month, down 0.1 percent each in February.

The energy index fell 1.3 percent for the 12 months ending in February, led by a 3.5-percent decline in the gasoline index. The natural gas index also declined over the past year, down 4.2 percent, while the index for electricity rose 1.7 percent over the last 12 months.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.8 percent in February, led by a 0.7-percent increase in the shelter index. Within shelter, the indexes for owners’ equivalent rent and rent of primary residence each rose 0.5 percent over the month. Apparel (+4.9 percent) was also among the indexes to increase in February.

The Consumer Price Index for March 2024 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

‍Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index for the South region is published monthly. 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 93 percent of the total U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. 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, 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 75 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 22,000 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; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000.  Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods available on the internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/.

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 South region is comprised of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Source: https://www.bls.gov/regions/southeast/news-release/consumerpriceindex_south.htm

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