March 29, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Consumer prices in the South rise 1.5 percent in 1998

In the South region, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 1.5 percent from December 1997 to December 1998, just below the national rise of 1.6 percent. The South CPI had risen 1.5 percent in 1997. The CPI-U measures retail price changes for goods and services purchased by consumers in metropolitan areas.

Annual change in the South Consumer Price Index (All Urban Consumers) and components, 1998
[Chart data—TXT]

In the South, housing prices rose 2.2 percent over the year, with the cost of shelter increasing 3.3 percent, the cost of fuels and utilities declining 2.3 percent, and the cost of household furnishings and operations growing 1.1 percent. Price increases also were reported in "other goods and services", medical care, recreation, and food and beverages. The "other goods and services" increase—which includes price changes for tobacco products—was the largest since 1982.

Price decreases in the South region from December 1997 to December 1998 were reported in apparel and transportation. Within transportation, gasoline prices declined 15.5 percent over the year. Education and communication items experienced a small price increase.

These data are produced by the BLS Consumer Price Index program. More information can be obtained in news release "Consumer Prices in the South: December 1998." Annual comparisons are based on changes in indexes from December 1997 to December 1998.

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The very first issue of The Editor's Desk (TED) was posted on September 28, 1998. TED was the first online-only publication of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For 10 years, BLS has been committed to posting a new TED article each business day, for a total of over 2,400 articles so far.

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