The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the Denver area rose 0.4 percent over the two months ended in July 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that the increase was led by higher prices for shelter. Overall, the all items less food and energy index advanced 0.6 percent. Food prices were virtually unchanged, up a slight 0.1 percent, and energy costs were down 2.9 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 2.1 percent led by higher prices for shelter (3.8 percent). The index for all items less food and energy was up 2.8 percent over the year. Prices for food rose 1.1 percent, but energy prices were down 5.6 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices crept up 0.1 percent during the June-July period reflecting a 0.3-percent increase in prices for food at home. Prices for food away from home were unchanged.

From July 2018 to July 2019, the food index rose 1.1 percent due to a 4.3-percent increase in prices for food away home. Costs for food at home declined 1.6 percent over the year.

Energy

The energy index declined 2.9 percent over the two-month pricing period ending in July. The decrease was primarily due to a 7.4-percent decline in prices for gasoline. Prices for utility (piped) gas service were down 4.6 percent. Higher prices for electricity (9.5 percent) helped to moderate the overall decrease in the energy index.

Over the year, the energy index decreased 5.6 percent reflecting lower prices for all major components. Prices for gasoline were down 5.7 percent over the year. Electricity costs declined 4.1 percent and utility (piped) gas service prices were 8.2 percent lower.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.6 percent during the June-July pricing period. Higher prices for shelter (1.7 percent) led the increase. New vehicles and apparel prices were among those that moderated the increase with declines of 2.0 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively.

From July 2018 to July 2019, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.8 percent. The broad-based increase was led by higher prices for shelter (3.8 percent). Higher costs for medical care (3.1 percent) and new vehicles (4.8 percent) were also among those that contributed to the gain. Household furnishings and operations (-0.9 percent) and apparel (-1.0 percent) were among the indexes that registered lower prices, but they did little to moderate the increase in the all items less food and energy index.

CPI-W

The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO metropolitan area for July 2019 was 257.133. The CPI-W increased 0.3 percent over the 2 months and increased 1.9 percent over the year.

The Consumer Price Index for August 2019 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, September 12, 2019, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

Technical Note

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 93 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 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 75 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 22,000 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 ww.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch17.pdf.

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 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metropolitan area is comprised of Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Gilpin, Jefferson, and Park counties in Colorado.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods,
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from -
	May 2019	Jun. 2019	Jul. 2019	Jul. 2018	May 2019	Jun. 2019
All items	266.280	-	267.285	2.1	0.4	-
All items (1967 = 100)	887.934	-	891.285
Food and beverages	237.198	-	237.507	1.0	0.1	-
Food	241.229	-	241.567	1.1	0.1	-
Food at home	226.018	227.203	226.633	-1.6	0.3	-0.3
Cereals and bakery products	284.754	-	282.669	-3.9	-0.7	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	219.248	-	213.071	-2.2	-2.8	-
Dairy and related products	184.443	-	197.261	-2.4	6.9	-
Fruits and vegetables	267.864	-	276.575	0.7	3.3	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	156.226	-	154.694	4.2	-1.0	-
Other food at home	205.532	-	204.468	-3.7	-0.5	-
Food away from home	260.680	-	260.680	4.3	0.0	-
Alcoholic beverages	202.926	-	202.926	-0.7	0.0	-
Housing	264.664	-	269.234	2.9	1.7	-
Shelter	307.719	312.133	313.077	3.8	1.7	0.3
Rent of primary residence	323.868	324.140	325.250	2.6	0.4	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	302.955	305.155	306.471	4.0	1.2	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	302.955	305.155	306.471	4.0	1.2	0.4
Fuels and utilities	235.338	-	241.411	-2.8	2.6	-
Household energy	154.053	158.938	161.235	-5.3	4.7	1.4
Energy services	152.694	157.724	159.945	-5.4	4.7	1.4
Electricity	153.291	168.091	167.887	-4.1	9.5	-0.1
Utility (piped) gas service	153.847	139.839	146.836	-8.2	-4.6	5.0
Household furnishings and operations	114.838	-	115.850	-0.9	0.9	-
Apparel	93.525	-	91.832	-1.0	-1.8	-
Transportation	269.716	-	263.604	1.7	-2.3	-
Private transportation	263.404	-	257.428	0.6	-2.3	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	110.024	-	110.580	3.2	0.5	-
New vehicles(1)	227.316	-	222.794	4.8	-2.0	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	266.501	-	274.911	3.2	3.2	-
Motor fuel	240.051	232.991	222.042	-5.8	-7.5	-4.7
Gasoline (all types)	238.244	231.256	220.500	-5.7	-7.4	-4.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	230.628	223.591	212.866	-6.0	-7.7	-4.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	236.893	230.783	220.311	-5.5	-7.0	-4.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	263.374	257.115	247.063	-3.9	-6.2	-3.9
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	2,856.141	-	2,856.141	5.6	0.0	-
Medical care	612.075	-	613.541	3.1	0.2	-
Recreation(3)	161.448	-	161.947	0.6	0.3	-
Education and communication(3)	123.386	-	123.013	1.7	-0.3	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,063.647	-	1,063.647	3.9	0.0	-
Other goods and services	370.428	-	370.303	2.6	0.0	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	174.169	-	172.214	0.6	-1.1	-
Commodities less food and beverages	142.210	-	139.546	0.3	-1.9	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	175.145	-	169.368	-1.3	-3.3	-
Durables	109.605	-	109.265	2.1	-0.3	-
Services	348.021	-	352.012	2.9	1.1	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	246.555	-	245.491	1.1	-0.4	-
All items less medical care	250.555	-	251.534	2.0	0.4	-
Commodities less food	144.624	-	142.024	0.3	-1.8	-
Nondurables	206.637	-	203.604	-0.1	-1.5	-
Nondurables less food	176.970	-	171.570	-1.3	-3.1	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	402.237	-	403.783	1.8	0.4	-
Services less medical care services	325.891	-	329.720	2.8	1.2	-
Energy	193.100	191.856	187.441	-5.6	-2.9	-2.3
All items less energy	274.399	-	275.988	2.6	0.6	-
All items less food and energy	281.214	-	283.019	2.8	0.6	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a January 1978=100 base. (2) Indexes on a November 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Index on a December 1993=100 base.
- Data not available.