Consumer prices in the South region increased slightly in July, according to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.1 percent over the month. Excluding food and energy, the index also saw a 0.1 percent increase.
Food prices in the region climbed 0.3 percent in July, with both grocery store purchases and dining out showing similar increases. Within grocery items, meats, poultry, fish, and eggs experienced a notable rise of 1.0 percent during the month.
Energy costs edged up by 0.1 percent in July. Natural gas prices rose by 0.5 percent while electricity and gasoline prices remained unchanged.
Over the past year, consumer prices for all items increased by 2.3 percent—the same rate as reported for June’s annual change. Prices excluding food and energy went up by 2.8 percent during this period.
The food index showed a yearly increase of 2.8 percent as well; restaurant and cafeteria meals were up by 3.9 percent compared to last year, while grocery store food prices rose by 2.0 percent.
Energy costs declined over the year with an overall decrease of 3.4 percent since last July; gasoline fell sharply by 11.6 percent but electricity rose by 5.2 percent and natural gas increased by 10.5 percent.
Shelter costs contributed to monthly inflation with a rise of 0.2 percent in July—owners’ equivalent rent was up by 0.3 percent—and used cars and trucks saw an increase of 0.8 percent for the month, while apparel dropped by 1.8 percent.
For shelter over the past year, there was a rise of 3.4 percent; owners’ equivalent rent increased even more at 3.8 percent annually.
The next update on consumer price changes for August is scheduled for release on September 11, at 8:30 a.m., Eastern Time.
The Consumer Price Index measures average price changes over time using a fixed basket of goods and services specific to regions like the South—which includes states such as Alabama, Florida, Texas, Virginia, among others—as part of its national program (https://www.bls.gov/regions/southeast/news-release/consumerpriceindex_south.htm).
Additional information about methodology can be found through resources such as the national CPI news release technical note or Handbook of Methods (https://www.bls.gov/cpi/methods.htm). Data tables and historical series are available via BLS data query tools (https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/dsrv?cu).
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