Prices in the San Francisco area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), rose 0.2 percent for the two months ending in June 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the June 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 3.2 percent.  (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices increased 2.2 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of electricity. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.0 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 1.1 percent for the two months ending in June. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 2.0 percent, and prices for food away from home increased 0.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 5.1 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 7.4 percent since a year ago, and prices for food at home rose 2.4 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 1.6 percent for the two months ending in June. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-3.4 percent). Prices for natural gas service declined 6.4 percent, but electricity prices advanced 4.6 percent for the same period.

Energy prices increased 2.2 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for electricity (4.9 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service increased 2.3 percent, and prices for gasoline increased 1.1 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 the latest two-month period. Higher prices for new and used motor vehicles (2.0 percent) and shelter (0.3 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for recreation (-2.2 percent) and apparel (-1.9 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.0 percent. Components contributing to the increase included apparel (7.5 percent), education and communication (5.9 percent), and shelter (2.8 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a decline in the price for new vehicles (-3.1 percent).

Table A. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2015		2016		2017		2018		2019
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	1.0	2.5	0.9	3.0	0.8	3.4	1.4	3.6	0.5	3.5
April	1.1	2.4	0.7	2.7	1.1	3.8	0.8	3.2	1.2	4.0
June	0.6	2.3	0.6	2.7	0.3	3.5	0.9	3.9	0.2	3.2
August	0.3	2.6	0.7	3.1	0.2	3.0	0.6	4.3
October	0.4	2.6	0.9	3.6	0.6	2.7	0.7	4.4
December	-0.3	3.2	-0.3	3.5	-0.1	2.9	0.1	4.5

The August 2019 Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward area is scheduled to be released on September 12, 2019.

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 94 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 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA. metropolitan area covered in this release is comprised of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo 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

San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Apr. 2019	May 2019	Jun. 2019	Jun. 2018	Apr. 2019	May 2019
Expenditure category
All items	294.801	-	295.259	3.2	0.2	-
All items (1967=100)	906.300	-	907.709	-	-	-
Food and beverages	288.243	-	290.452	4.6	0.8	-
Food	285.888	-	288.914	5.1	1.1	-
Food at home	252.639	254.863	257.789	2.4	2.0	1.1
Cereals and bakery products	258.149	-	259.205	-0.3	0.4	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	250.400	-	258.545	4.7	3.3	-
Dairy and related products	261.768	-	264.976	-1.1	1.2	-
Fruits and vegetables	342.744	-	347.822	4.3	1.5	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	204.278	-	200.398	-0.9	-1.9	-
Other food at home	216.998	-	226.017	2.9	4.2	-
Food away from home	324.339	-	325.183	7.4	0.3	-
Food away from home	324.339	-	325.183	7.4	0.3	-
Alcoholic beverages	316.507	-	311.910	1.0	-1.5	-
Housing	346.105	-	347.397	2.8	0.4	-
Shelter	395.518	396.532	396.831	2.8	0.3	0.1
Rent of primary residence(2)	453.935	454.898	452.744	2.8	-0.3	-0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	424.098	424.539	425.284	2.8	0.3	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	424.098	424.539	425.284	2.8	0.3	0.2
Fuels and utilities	415.874	-	419.833	5.2	1.0	-
Household energy	359.515	366.047	365.063	4.0	1.5	-0.3
Energy services(2)	360.524	367.134	366.460	4.2	1.6	-0.2
Electricity(2)	373.923	391.199	391.199	4.9	4.6	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	320.999	302.619	300.392	2.3	-6.4	-0.7
Household furnishings and operations	139.090	-	139.650	0.9	0.4	-
Apparel	117.181	-	114.989	7.5	-1.9	-
Transportation	210.749	-	210.896	1.1	0.1	-
Private transportation	204.281	-	203.699	1.1	-0.3	-
New and used motor vehicles(4)	93.188	-	95.053	-2.7	2.0	-
New vehicles(1)	158.086	-	159.898	-3.1	1.1	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	253.407	-	253.982	0.4	0.2	-
Motor fuel	290.028	297.662	280.364	1.1	-3.3	-5.8
Gasoline (all types)	289.129	296.691	279.331	1.1	-3.4	-5.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	289.818	297.438	279.819	1.2	-3.5	-5.9
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	266.200	275.585	259.713	0.8	-2.4	-5.8
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	271.738	278.343	262.894	0.8	-3.3	-5.6
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	516.426	-	516.426	2.1	0.0	-
Medical care	537.178	-	538.854	5.4	0.3	-
Recreation(6)	119.255	-	116.648	0.9	-2.2	-
Education and communication(6)	151.482	-	151.694	5.9	0.1	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,836.560	-	1,836.560	10.3	0.0	-
Other goods and services	499.587	-	499.018	1.0	-0.1	-
Commodity and service group
All items	294.801	-	295.259	3.2	0.2	-
Commodities	195.833	-	194.969	2.4	-0.4	-
Commodities less food & beverages	146.132	-	143.834	0.3	-1.6	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	196.693	-	191.919	1.5	-2.4	-
Durables	97.745	-	97.689	-1.6	-0.1	-
Services	377.211	-	378.743	3.6	0.4	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	284.919	-	285.329	3.1	0.1	-
All items less shelter	253.247	-	253.308	3.5	0.0	-
Commodities less food	153.324	-	150.931	0.4	-1.6	-
Nondurables	243.797	-	242.507	3.3	-0.5	-
Nondurables less food	205.752	-	201.051	1.4	-2.3	-
Services less rent of shelter(3)	370.732	-	372.718	4.8	0.5	-
Services less medical care services	367.000	-	368.418	3.3	0.4	-
Energy	322.575	330.124	317.453	2.2	-1.6	-3.8
All items less energy	297.045	-	297.776	3.3	0.2	-
All items less food and energy	299.618	-	299.981	3.0	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) Indexes 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.