“Food at home and shelter prices in the Washington-Baltimore area advanced, while energy prices declined in August, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that despite the one-month decrease in energy prices, all three indexes were higher than year-ago levels; energy prices were up 24.7 percent since August 2007, while food at home and shelter were 6.7 and 3.6 percent higher, respectively.” [Gerald L. Perrins, Jr., Regional Economist and Branch Chief, Bureau of Labor Statistics]