Prices in the West Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), inched up 0.1 percent in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The July increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter 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 advanced 3.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices jumped 14.9 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.1 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 0.3 percent for the month of July. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home increased 0.5 percent, while prices for food away from home were virtually unchanged for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 1.5 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 3.4 percent since a year ago, while prices for food at home were unchanged.

Energy

The energy index decreased 0.9 percent over the month. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-1.9 percent). Prices for natural gas service rose 2.1 percent, and prices for electricity rose 0.4 percent for the same period.

Energy prices jumped 14.9 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (25.9 percent). Prices paid for electricity rose 2.2 percent, but prices for natural gas service decreased 0.8 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 shelter (0.4 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (0.2 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-0.2 percent), and recreation (-0.1 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.1 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (4.5 percent) and medical care (3.5 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decline in apparel (-0.5 percent).

Table A. West Region 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	0.3	1.7	0.3	1.7	-0.3	0.7	0.5	2.6	0.5	2.5	0.5	3.1
February	0.8	2.0	0.4	1.3	0.6	0.9	0.1	2.1	0.6	3.0	0.5	3.1
March	0.4	1.5	0.6	1.5	0.8	1.1	0.2	1.5	0.3	3.1	0.4	3.2
April	0.0	1.3	0.3	1.8	0.3	1.0	0.5	1.8	0.3	2.9	0.4	3.2
May	0.2	1.3	0.6	2.3	0.8	1.2	0.5	1.5	0.2	2.6	0.5	3.5
June	0.1	1.5	0.1	2.3	0.0	1.1	0.2	1.6	0.0	2.5	0.2	3.6
July	0.0	1.9	0.1	2.3	0.3	1.3	0.1	1.4	0.1	2.5	0.1	3.6
August	0.1	1.5	-0.1	2.1	-0.1	1.3	0.0	1.5	0.2	2.7
September	0.2	1.3	0.1	2.0	-0.2	1.0	0.3	2.0	0.5	2.9
October	-0.1	0.9	-0.1	2.0	0.0	1.1	0.3	2.3	0.3	2.9
November	-0.4	1.3	-0.6	1.7	-0.2	1.5	-0.2	2.3	0.0	3.1
December	0.0	1.8	-0.5	1.3	-0.1	1.8	0.0	2.5	0.1	3.1

The August 2018 Consumer Price Index for the West Region 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 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: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods

West (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	263.240	263.732	263.971	3.6	0.3	0.1
All items (December 1977=100)	425.513	426.308	426.695
Food and beverages	258.988	258.621	259.346	1.6	0.1	0.3
Food	258.727	258.236	258.957	1.5	0.1	0.3
Food at home	246.051	244.882	246.043	0.0	0.0	0.5
Cereals and bakery products	257.138	259.246	257.604		0.2	-0.6
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	255.165	253.607	254.621		-0.2	0.4
Dairy and related products	225.802	225.572	225.280		-0.2	-0.1
Fruits and vegetables	328.314	321.080	328.882		0.2	2.4
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	168.029	168.188	169.007		0.6	0.5
Other food at home	212.282	211.942	211.847		-0.2	0.0
Food away from home	275.231	275.616	275.768	3.4	0.2	0.1
Alcoholic beverages	259.074	260.296	261.082	3.3	0.8	0.3
Housing	285.962	286.923	287.898	3.9	0.7	0.3
Shelter	329.057	330.401	331.639	4.5	0.8	0.4
Rent of primary residence(1)	346.695	348.033	349.575	4.6	0.8	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)	345.130	346.374	347.643	4.4	0.7	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	345.138	346.390	347.658	4.4	0.7	0.4
Fuels and utilities	300.626	301.858	303.862	2.4	1.1	0.7
Household energy	257.597	259.055	260.716	1.6	1.2	0.6
Energy services(1)	259.694	261.183	263.022	1.5	1.3	0.7
Electricity(1)	290.388	292.957	293.988	2.2	1.2	0.4
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	202.803	201.537	205.731	-0.8	1.4	2.1
Household furnishings and operations	129.855	129.427	129.110	0.8	-0.6	-0.2
Apparel	118.820	115.992	116.023	-0.5	-2.4	0.0
Transportation	220.592	221.744	220.363	8.3	-0.1	-0.6
Private transportation	215.538	216.718	215.824	9.1	0.1	-0.4
New and used motor vehicles(3)	100.389	100.459	100.701	0.5	0.3	0.2
New vehicles	147.222	147.909	147.075	0.6	-0.1	-0.6
New cars and trucks(3)(4)	102.250	102.731	102.160	0.6	-0.1	-0.6
New cars(4)	144.442	144.775	144.240	0.5	-0.1	-0.4
Used cars and trucks	133.079	133.492	134.821	0.3	1.3	1.0
Motor fuel	276.632	279.527	274.374	25.9	-0.8	-1.8
Gasoline (all types)	275.640	278.459	273.199	25.9	-0.9	-1.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	272.991	275.824	270.477	26.2	-0.9	-1.9
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	261.436	264.458	259.895	25.1	-0.6	-1.7
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	268.167	270.652	266.183	23.9	-0.7	-1.7
Motor vehicle insurance(6)	835.102	842.944	843.244		1.0	0.0
Medical Care	493.298	496.224	496.037	3.5	0.6	0.0
Medical care commodities	386.046	385.823	384.693	3.0	-0.4	-0.3
Medical care services	526.890	530.874	531.008	3.6	0.8	0.0
Professional services	358.466	358.284	357.697	2.8	-0.2	-0.2
Recreation(3)	114.078	114.081	113.911	1.1	-0.1	-0.1
Education and communication(3)	135.799	135.789	136.063	0.4	0.2	0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)	1,382.887	1,384.425	1,399.067		1.2	1.1
Other goods and services	434.750	436.019	436.007	2.0	0.3	0.0
Commodity and Service Group
All Items	263.240	263.732	263.971	3.6	0.3	0.1
Commodities	186.094	185.761	185.376	3.0	-0.4	-0.2
Commodities less food & beverages	149.403	149.100	148.319	3.9	-0.7	-0.5
Nondurables less food & beverages	198.339	197.741	196.321	7.8	-1.0	-0.7
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel	254.061	255.085	252.628	10.7	-0.6	-1.0
Durables	105.794	105.729	105.466	-1.2	-0.3	-0.2
Services	334.595	335.919	336.793	4.0	0.7	0.3
Rent of shelter(2)	350.363	351.787	353.072	4.5	0.8	0.4
Transportation services	319.606	320.245	319.043	5.4	-0.2	-0.4
Other services	348.412	349.432	350.245	2.3	0.5	0.2
Special aggregate indexes:
All items less medical care	252.716	253.102	253.359	3.7	0.3	0.1
All items less food	264.120	264.765	264.929	4.0	0.3	0.1
All items less shelter	237.502	237.654	237.493	3.1	0.0	-0.1
Commodities less food	153.527	153.262	152.516	3.9	-0.7	-0.5
Nondurables	229.253	228.753	228.310	4.4	-0.4	-0.2
Nondurables less food	203.034	202.538	201.237	7.4	-0.9	-0.6
Nondurables less food and apparel	254.233	255.274	253.126	9.9	-0.4	-0.8
Services less rent of shelter(2)	351.954	353.301	353.751	3.3	0.5	0.1
Services less medical care services	321.147	322.294	323.213	4.0	0.6	0.3
Energy	273.252	275.620	273.095	14.9	-0.1	-0.9
All items less energy	264.702	265.061	265.503	2.9	0.3	0.2
All items less food and energy	266.526	267.033	267.428	3.1	0.3	0.1
Commodities less food and energy commodities	139.963	139.320	139.098	-0.2	-0.6	-0.2
Energy commodities	281.322	284.236	278.990	25.6	-0.8	-1.8
Services less energy services	340.249	341.570	342.395	4.1	0.6	0.2
Footnotes (1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (2) Index is on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (6) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.
- Data not available Regions defined as the four Census regions. West includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.