Prices in the Los Angeles area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), were up 0.2 percent in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the July increase was influenced by higher prices for apparel and food. (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 3.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices jumped 18.4 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.3 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.5 percent for the month of July. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 0.9 percent, and prices for food away from home edged up 0.1 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 1.3 percent. Prices for food away from advanced 2.9 percent since a year ago, but prices for food at home declined 0.3 percent.

Energy

The energy index edged up 0.1 percent over the month. The increase was largely due to higher prices for electricity (2.1 percent). Prices for natural gas service rose 5.1 percent, but prices for gasoline declined 1.4 percent for the same period.

Energy prices jumped 18.4 percent over the year, mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (25.4 percent). Prices paid for electricity increased 8.9 percent, and prices for natural gas service advanced 3.7 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy inched up 0.1 percent in July. Higher prices for apparel (2.1 percent), education and communication (0.5 percent), and shelter (0.1 percent) were partially offset by a decline in new vehicle prices (-0.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.3 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (5.1 percent), other goods and services (2.8 percent), and apparel (2.4 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price declines in recreation (-1.2 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-0.6 percent).

Table A. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CPI-U monthly and annual percent changes (not seasonally adjusted)

Month	2013		2014		2015		2016		2017		2018
	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual
January	0.8	2.0	0.5	0.8	-0.3	-0.1	0.7	3.1	0.9	2.1	0.8	3.5
February	0.7	2.2	0.5	0.5	0.7	0.1	0.0	2.4	0.6	2.7	0.7	3.6
March	0.1	1.3	0.6	1.0	1.0	0.5	0.3	1.7	0.3	2.7	0.4	3.8
April	-0.4	0.9	0.0	1.4	-0.1	0.5	0.2	2.0	0.2	2.7	0.4	4.0
May	0.1	1.0	0.4	1.7	1.0	1.1	0.5	1.4	0.3	2.5	0.4	4.1
June	-0.1	1.4	0.1	1.8	-0.3	0.8	0.1	1.8	-0.2	2.2	-0.2	4.0
July	-0.1	1.3	0.1	2.0	0.7	1.4	0.0	1.1	0.3	2.5	0.2	3.9
August	0.1	0.8	-0.1	1.8	-0.3	1.1	0.0	1.4	0.3	2.8
September	0.2	0.6	0.0	1.7	-0.4	0.7	0.2	1.9	0.4	3.1
October	0.1	-0.1	-0.1	1.4	0.2	1.0	0.4	2.2	0.4	3.1
November	-0.5	0.4	-0.7	1.3	0.0	1.6	-0.4	1.8	0.1	3.6
December	0.0	1.1	-0.5	0.7	-0.1	2.0	0.0	2.0	0.0	3.6

The August 2018 Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area is scheduled to be released on September 13, 2018.

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 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 5,000 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 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 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim. metropolitan area covered in this release is comprised of Los Angeles and Orange Counties in the State of California.

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

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	May 2018	Jun. 2018	Jul. 2018	Jul. 2017	May 2018	Jun. 2018
Expenditure category
All items	266.148	265.522	266.007	3.9	-0.1	0.2
All items (1967=100)	786.319	784.470	785.904	-	-	-
Food and beverages	259.252	258.121	259.476	1.3	0.1	0.5
Food	259.611	258.493	259.767	1.3	0.1	0.5
Food at home	255.115	251.908	254.096	-0.3	-0.4	0.9
Cereals and bakery products	258.547	265.089	263.179	-	1.8	-0.7
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	276.998	276.874	276.583	-	-0.1	-0.1
Dairy and related products	243.136	230.080	234.972	-	-3.4	2.1
Fruits and vegetables	342.775	334.496	344.753	-	0.6	3.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	260.211	254.932	258.283	-	-0.7	1.3
Other food at home	202.990	200.450	200.663	-	-1.1	0.1
Food away from home	260.832	261.902	262.209	2.9	0.5	0.1
Food away from home	260.832	261.902	262.209	2.9	0.5	0.1
Alcoholic beverages	238.649	237.407	239.755	1.7	0.5	1.0
Housing	300.896	300.801	301.542	4.7	0.2	0.2
Shelter	346.704	346.681	346.981	5.1	0.1	0.1
Rent of primary residence(2)	362.688	363.460	365.169	4.7	0.7	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	358.741	360.277	361.296	5.2	0.7	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	358.720	360.256	361.275	5.2	0.7	0.3
Fuels and utilities	320.397	320.494	328.041	7.3	2.4	2.4
Household energy	274.524	274.645	282.590	7.7	2.9	2.9
Energy services(2)	273.095	273.373	281.402	7.8	3.0	2.9
Electricity(2)	313.199	309.886	316.429	8.9	1.0	2.1
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	227.144	234.695	246.743	3.7	8.6	5.1
Household furnishings and operations	116.160	115.769	115.972	-0.6	-0.2	0.2
Apparel	107.820	105.173	107.346	2.4	-0.4	2.1
Transportation	216.802	215.564	213.623	8.6	-1.5	-0.9
Private transportation	212.498	211.801	211.018	9.6	-0.7	-0.4
New and used motor vehicles(4)	92.071	92.013	92.280	-	0.2	0.3
New vehicles(1)	169.306	169.414	169.010	-	-0.2	-0.2
Used cars and trucks(1)	267.205	268.557	270.549	-	1.3	0.7
Motor fuel	288.201	284.872	280.952	25.6	-2.5	-1.4
Gasoline (all types)	281.580	278.310	274.462	25.4	-2.5	-1.4
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	282.335	279.017	275.178	25.7	-2.5	-1.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	269.950	267.048	263.459	24.9	-2.4	-1.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	267.712	264.768	260.989	23.9	-2.5	-1.4
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	758.909	758.909	758.909	-	0.0	0.0
Medical care	480.668	479.922	480.464	1.2	0.0	0.1
Recreation(6)	105.700	105.881	105.881	-1.2	0.2	0.0
Education and communication(6)	144.240	144.897	145.628	1.3	1.0	0.5
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,775.946	1,780.097	1,828.363	-	3.0	2.7
Other goods and services	428.442	426.226	428.248	2.8	0.0	0.5
Commodity and service group
All items	266.148	265.522	266.007	3.9	-0.1	0.2
Commodities	182.353	180.949	181.190	3.0	-0.6	0.1
Commodities less food & beverages	141.575	140.158	139.961	4.3	-1.1	-0.1
Nondurables less food & beverages	193.946	191.320	191.669	8.9	-1.2	0.2
Durables	91.224	90.882	90.239	-3.3	-1.1	-0.7
Services	340.747	340.805	341.507	4.3	0.2	0.2
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	256.804	256.185	256.666	4.1	-0.1	0.2
All items less shelter	230.818	229.915	230.487	3.1	-0.1	0.2
Commodities less food	145.895	144.464	144.332	4.2	-1.1	-0.1
Nondurables	228.379	226.376	227.194	4.8	-0.5	0.4
Nondurables less food	199.029	196.442	196.905	8.4	-1.1	0.2
Services less rent of shelter(3)	341.387	341.556	342.924	3.2	0.5	0.4
Services less medical care services	328.759	328.838	329.484	4.6	0.2	0.2
Energy	285.492	283.343	283.532	18.4	-0.7	0.1
All items less energy	266.971	266.441	266.950	3.0	0.0	0.2
All items less food and energy	268.532	268.094	268.484	3.3	0.0	0.1
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base. (2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (3) Index is on a December 1982=100 base. (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.
- Data not available NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.