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15-503-SAN
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Prices in the West Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.6 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The February increase was influenced by higher prices for gasoline and shelter. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)
Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 0.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices dropped 17.5 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.3 percent over the year. (See table 1.)
Food
Food prices inched down 0.1 percent for the month of February. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home decreased 0.3 percent, but prices for food away from home rose 0.3 percent for the same period.
Over the year, food prices advanced 3.4 percent. Prices for food at home rose 3.7 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home advanced 3.1 percent.
EnergyThe energy index advanced 2.8 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (6.2 percent). Prices for electricity inched down 0.1 percent, and prices for natural gas service declined 0.5 percent for the same period.
Energy prices dropped 17.5 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-29.8 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service rose 2.7 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 0.8 percent during the past year.
All items less food and energyThe index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.5 percent in February. The increase was primarily due to higher prices for apparel (1.9 percent), new vehicles (1.2 percent), and shelter (0.5 percent).
Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 2.3 percent. Higher prices for shelter (4.0 percent) and medical care (2.5 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-3.5 percent).
Month | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Monthly | Annual | Monthly | Annual | Monthly | Annual | Monthly | Annual | Monthly | Annual | Monthly | Annual | |
January | 0.3 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 1.7 | -0.3 | 0.7 |
February | 0.1 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 2.0 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.9 |
March | 0.3 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 2.4 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 1.5 | ||
April | 0.2 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 3.0 | 0.2 | 2.1 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 1.8 | ||
May | 0.1 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 3.2 | 0.2 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 2.3 | ||
June | -0.1 | 0.6 | -0.2 | 3.1 | -0.2 | 2.0 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 2.3 | ||
July | 0.1 | 0.8 | -0.1 | 2.9 | -0.3 | 1.8 | 0.0 | 1.9 | 0.1 | 2.3 | ||
August | 0.1 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 0.1 | 1.5 | -0.1 | 2.1 | ||
September | -0.1 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 3.5 | 0.5 | 2.2 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 2.0 | ||
October | 0.1 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 3.4 | 0.4 | 2.5 | -0.1 | 0.9 | -0.1 | 2.0 | ||
November | 0.0 | 0.9 | -0.2 | 3.2 | -0.7 | 1.9 | -0.4 | 1.3 | -0.6 | 1.7 | ||
December | 0.2 | 1.3 | -0.3 | 2.7 | -0.5 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 1.8 | -0.5 | 1.3 |
The March 2015 Consumer Price Index for the West Region is scheduled to be released on April 17, 2015.
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 89 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 28 percent of the total 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, and 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 87 urban areas across the country from about 4,000 housing units and approximately 26,000 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 (1982-84) that equals 100.0. An increase of 16.5 percent, for example, is shown as 116.5. This change can also be expressed in dollars as follows: the price of a base period "market basket" of goods and services in the CPI has risen from $10 in 1982-84 to $11.65. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, 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 West Region covered in this release is comprised of the following thirteen states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.
Item and Group | Indexes | Percent change from- | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dec. 2014 | Jan. 2015 | Feb. 2015 | Feb. 2014 | Dec. 2014 | Jan. 2015 | |
Expenditure category | ||||||
All Items | 239.095 | 238.318 | 239.748 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.6 |
All items (December 1977=100) | 386.484 | 385.227 | 387.539 | |||
Food and beverages | 248.679 | 249.219 | 249.100 | 3.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
Food | 248.803 | 249.403 | 249.263 | 3.4 | 0.2 | -0.1 |
Food at home | 249.592 | 250.441 | 249.628 | 3.7 | 0.0 | -0.3 |
Food away from home | 246.468 | 246.713 | 247.524 | 3.1 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
Alcoholic beverages | 243.682 | 243.463 | 243.604 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
Housing | 249.072 | 250.123 | 251.248 | 3.4 | 0.9 | 0.4 |
Shelter | 281.000 | 282.147 | 283.426 | 4.0 | 0.9 | 0.5 |
Rent of primary residence (1) | 294.877 | 295.927 | 296.880 | 4.2 | 0.7 | 0.3 |
295.058 | 295.909 | 296.871 | 3.6 | 0.6 | 0.3 | |
295.047 | 295.900 | 296.862 | 3.6 | 0.6 | 0.3 | |
Fuels and utilities | 272.267 | 274.684 | 274.760 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 0.0 |
Household energy | 237.907 | 240.250 | 239.786 | 0.4 | 0.8 | -0.2 |
Energy services (1) | 239.150 | 242.408 | 241.924 | 1.3 | 1.2 | -0.2 |
Electricity (1) | 258.855 | 263.658 | 263.361 | 0.8 | 1.7 | -0.1 |
Utility (piped) gas service (1) | 207.308 | 207.079 | 206.117 | 2.7 | -0.6 | -0.5 |
Household furnishings and operations | 128.131 | 128.181 | 129.299 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
Apparel | 116.587 | 116.559 | 118.718 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 1.9 |
Transportation | 198.919 | 190.929 | 194.638 | -8.5 | -2.2 | 1.9 |
Private transportation | 192.744 | 184.366 | 188.194 | -9.1 | -2.4 | 2.1 |
New and used motor vehicles (3) | 99.351 | 99.511 | 100.642 | -0.5 | 1.3 | 1.1 |
New vehicles | 145.050 | 145.496 | 147.272 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 1.2 |
100.847 | 101.157 | 102.349 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 1.2 | |
New cars (4) | 145.247 | 145.783 | 147.203 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 1.0 |
Used cars and trucks | 137.692 | 137.029 | 138.644 | -3.5 | 0.7 | 1.2 |
Motor fuel | 224.945 | 189.669 | 200.971 | -29.7 | -10.7 | 6.0 |
Gasoline (all types) | 223.075 | 188.054 | 199.636 | -29.8 | -10.5 | 6.2 |
Gasoline, unleaded regular (4) | 221.296 | 185.737 | 197.305 | -30.3 | -10.8 | 6.2 |
211.919 | 181.020 | 192.246 | -28.4 | -9.3 | 6.2 | |
Gasoline, unleaded premium (4) | 215.594 | 184.778 | 195.873 | -27.9 | -9.1 | 6.0 |
Medical Care | 446.377 | 447.286 | 449.719 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 0.5 |
Medical care commodities | 340.579 | 341.585 | 345.317 | 4.1 | 1.4 | 1.1 |
Medical care services | 479.809 | 480.659 | 482.519 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 0.4 |
Professional services | 332.813 | 333.511 | 336.261 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.8 |
Recreation (3) | 109.058 | 109.062 | 109.610 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
Education and communication (3) | 138.071 | 138.286 | 138.439 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
Other goods and services | 399.426 | 401.012 | 401.142 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
Commodity and Service Group | ||||||
All Items | 239.095 | 238.318 | 239.748 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.6 |
Commodities | 178.573 | 176.041 | 177.717 | -2.5 | -0.5 | 1.0 |
Commodities less food & beverages | 143.483 | 139.773 | 142.131 | -6.3 | -0.9 | 1.7 |
Nondurables less food & beverages | 181.257 | 173.286 | 177.077 | -9.4 | -2.3 | 2.2 |
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel | 226.847 | 213.492 | 218.422 | -12.7 | -3.7 | 2.3 |
Durables | 108.556 | 108.712 | 109.762 | -1.4 | 1.1 | 1.0 |
Services | 294.763 | 295.685 | 296.863 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 0.4 |
Rent of shelter (2) | 298.941 | 300.156 | 301.527 | 3.9 | 0.9 | 0.5 |
Transportation services | 278.753 | 278.242 | 279.634 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 0.5 |
Other services | 332.790 | 332.835 | 333.826 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
Special aggregate indexes: | ||||||
All items less medical care | 229.595 | 228.753 | 230.137 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.6 |
All items less food | 237.750 | 236.753 | 238.434 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.7 |
All items less shelter | 223.389 | 221.784 | 223.293 | -0.7 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
Commodities less food | 147.288 | 143.659 | 145.965 | -5.9 | -0.9 | 1.6 |
Nondurables | 215.043 | 210.976 | 212.975 | -2.8 | -1.0 | 0.9 |
Nondurables less food | 185.924 | 178.377 | 181.969 | -8.6 | -2.1 | 2.0 |
Nondurables less food and apparel | 228.117 | 216.045 | 220.507 | -11.4 | -3.3 | 2.1 |
Services less rent of shelter (2) | 322.879 | 323.522 | 324.581 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
Services less medical care services | 281.909 | 282.829 | 283.959 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 0.4 |
Energy | 233.116 | 214.552 | 220.630 | -17.5 | -5.4 | 2.8 |
All items less energy | 241.484 | 242.047 | 243.137 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 0.5 |
All items less food and energy | 240.962 | 241.520 | 242.829 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 0.5 |
Commodities less food and energy commodities | 138.982 | 139.182 | 140.436 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.9 |
Energy commodities | 229.604 | 193.829 | 205.085 | -29.6 | -10.7 | 5.8 |
Services less energy services | 299.047 | 299.823 | 301.110 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 0.4 |
Footnotes | ||||||
Regions defined as the four Census regions. West includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. |
Last Modified Date: Tuesday, March 24, 2015