The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Dallas-Fort Worth rose 0.8 percent in February and March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that the advance was led by increases in the indexes for all items less food and energy (0.9 percent) and energy (1.1 percent). In contrast, food prices declined 0.3 percent during the period. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bimonthly changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

During the year ended in March 2016, the all items CPI-U rose 0.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.1 percent during the latest period.

Food

Food prices fell 0.3 percent in February and March, after declining 0.5 percent in the previous two-month period. Among the two components of the index, prices for food at home (grocery store prices) decreased 0.5 percent while prices for food away from home were unchanged.

From March 2015 to March 2016, food prices rose 0.3 percent, reflecting the combined effects of a 2.1-percent price rise for food away from home and a 1.2-percent price decline for food at home.

Energy

The energy index rose 1.1 percent in February and March, the first bimonthly increase in this index since June and July 2015. The current increase was the result of a 7.9-percent rise in motor fuel costs. Partially offsetting the motor fuel advance were lower household energy costs, as prices for natural gas and electricity decreased 4.3 and 4.1 percent, respectively.

Despite the bimonthly rise, the energy index registered a 13.1-percent decrease during the year ended in March 2016. The biggest contributor to the decline was a 16.8-percent drop in motor fuel prices, though a 12.0-percent decrease in electricity costs also contributed. Countering a portion of these declines, natural gas prices increased 10.0 percent during the previous 12 months. This was the first over-the-year advance in natural gas prices since the year ended in January 2015.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.9 percent in February and March, after increasing 0.7 percent in December and January. The advance was broad-based, but led by higher prices for apparel and education and communication, up 9.8 and 2.1 percent, respectively. Smaller rates of increase were registered for several major categories, including recreation (1.1 percent), medical care (0.6 percent), other goods and services (0.6 percent), and shelter (0.4 percent).

From March 2015 to March 2016, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.1 percent. The biggest factor in the annual rise was a 3.8-percent rise in shelter costs. Other large contributors to the annual increase included medical care (4.8 percent) and education and communication (3.8 percent). Countering a portion of these advances, annual declines were registered for apparel (-6.0 percent) and recreation (-0.9 percent).

The May 2016 Consumer Price Index for All Items for Dallas-Fort Worth is scheduled to be released Thursday, June 16, 2016.

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 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 6,000 housing units and approximately 24,000 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/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 Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) includes Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Henderson, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, and Tarrant Counties.

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,
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from -
	Jan. 2016	Feb. 2016	Mar. 2016	Mar. 2015	Jan. 2016	Feb. 2016
All items	217.164	-	218.877	0.6	0.8	-
All items (1967 = 100)	681.232	-	686.605
Food and beverages	250.567	-	249.669	0.2	-0.4	-
Food	245.023	-	244.392	0.3	-0.3	-
Food at home	218.848	220.145	217.788	-1.2	-0.5	-1.1
Food away from home	285.730	-	285.666	2.1	0.0	-
Alcoholic beverages	323.050	-	318.366	-2.6	-1.4	-
Housing	201.464	-	201.544	2.0	0.0	-
Shelter	219.360	219.343	220.225	3.8	0.4	0.4
Rent of primary residence (1)	230.106	230.432	231.213	5.0	0.5	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of residences (1) (2)	234.329	235.486	236.609	4.4	1.0	0.5
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence (1) (2)	234.329	235.486	236.609	4.4	1.0	0.5
Fuels and utilities	216.447	-	210.681	-6.0	-2.7	-
Household energy	199.441	198.252	191.256	-9.7	-4.1	-3.5
Energy services (1) (3)	196.294	195.115	188.194	-9.7	-4.1	-3.5
Electricity (1)	191.214	191.214	183.367	-12.0	-4.1	-4.1
Utility (piped) gas service (1)	175.655	168.710	168.189	10.0	-4.3	-0.3
Household furnishings and operations	125.373	-	126.194	-0.1	0.7	-
Apparel	102.407	-	112.400	-6.0	9.8	-
Transportation	190.804	-	193.954	-3.5	1.7	-
Private transportation	192.431	-	195.614	-3.5	1.7	-
Motor fuel	160.579	147.890	173.335	-16.8	7.9	17.2
Gasoline (all types)	159.680	147.005	172.632	-16.5	8.1	17.4
Gasoline, unleaded regular (4)	152.097	139.580	165.540	-17.7	8.8	18.6
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (4) (5)	172.710	159.690	183.801	-14.5	6.4	15.1
Gasoline, unleaded premium (4)	179.617	167.677	189.970	-11.9	5.8	13.3
Medical care	428.476	-	431.261	4.8	0.6	-
Recreation (6)	109.561	-	110.811	-0.9	1.1	-
Education and communication (6)	139.350	-	142.248	3.8	2.1	-
Other goods and services	384.990	-	387.268	1.7	0.6	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	168.111	-	170.848	-2.9	1.6	-
Commodities less food and beverages	131.894	-	135.662	-4.9	2.9	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	152.905	-	161.147	-5.8	5.4	-
Durables	112.801	-	113.131	-3.5	0.3	-
Services	265.124	-	265.868	3.0	0.3	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	216.914	-	219.040	-0.8	1.0	-
All items less medical care	206.943	-	208.602	0.3	0.8	-
Commodities less food	136.711	-	140.324	-4.8	2.6	-
Nondurables	196.888	-	201.257	-2.7	2.2	-
Nondurables less food	160.788	-	168.420	-5.6	4.7	-
Services less rent of shelter (2)	330.647	-	330.962	2.1	0.1	-
Services less medical care services	248.732	-	249.771	2.9	0.4	-
Energy	181.945	175.140	183.913	-13.1	1.1	5.0
All items less energy	224.102	-	225.823	1.8	0.8	-
All items less food and energy	220.677	-	222.744	2.1	0.9	-
(1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (2) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Prior to January 2011 this series was titled Gas (piped) and electricity. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (6) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.