The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell area increased by 0.1 percent from June to August, according to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee stated that the food index rose 1.2 percent over this period, while the energy index increased by 0.4 percent. The index for all items excluding food and energy declined by 0.1 percent.
Over the past year, the overall CPI-U for Atlanta advanced 1.7 percent as of August. The index for all items less food and energy grew by 1.9 percent during this time frame, while the food index saw a larger increase of 3.5 percent and the energy index dropped by 2.3 percent.
Breaking down recent changes, from June to August, prices for food away from home rose by 1.9 percent and those for food at home increased by 0.8 percent. Four out of six major grocery store categories experienced price hikes, including meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (up 2.3 percent), as well as nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (up 3.3 percent).
Year-over-year data showed that prices for food away from home were up 6.9 percent and prices for food at home rose by 1.2 percent since last August; among grocery categories, meats, poultry, fish, and eggs posted a notable increase of 7.3 percent.
The energy category’s two-month rise was driven in part by a modest gasoline price uptick of 0.2 percent; however, over twelve months gasoline prices fell sharply—down 9.5 percent—contributing to an overall annual decrease in the energy index.
Indexes with declines between June and August included apparel (down 4.6 percent), medical care (down 1.1 percent), and recreation (down 1.3 percent). Notable increases were seen in owners’ equivalent rent (up 0.5 percent) and education and communication (up 1.6 percent).
For the year ending in August, shelter costs climbed by 2.3 percent; owners’ equivalent rent was up by three percentage points; household furnishings and operations also recorded an increase of eight percentage points over twelve months; meanwhile apparel prices dropped by about seven-and-a-half percentage points during this period.
The next release of CPI data covering September is scheduled for October 15 and will be followed with October figures on November 13.
According to information provided alongside these statistics, local indexes such as Atlanta’s are based on smaller sample sizes than national or regional indexes; therefore they may be more volatile due to sampling or measurement error and are not adjusted seasonally (https://www.bls.gov/cpi/tables/supplemental-files/area-indexes-explanation.htm). These indexes do not compare price levels between cities but instead track average price changes within each area since their respective base periods (https://www.bls.gov/cpi/questions-and-answers.htm).
Percent change histories can be accessed through BLS query tools linked within Table 1 of this release (https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/dsrv?cu). For further technical details about how these measures are calculated or what they represent nationally versus locally, readers can consult resources such as the national CPI news release technical note or refer to the Handbook of Methods (https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/).
“The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell increased 0.1 percent from June to August,” said Regional Commissioner Victoria G.Lee.”Regional Commissioner Victoria G.Lee noted the food index advanced 1 .2 percent over the two-month span.The energy index increased 0 .4 percent over the same period.The index for all items less food and energy declined 0 .1 percent from June to August.(Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted.Accordingly , bi-monthly changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)”
