Prices in the Anchorage area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 2.5 percent for the two months ending in June 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the June increase was influenced by higher prices for used cars and trucks and gasoline. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 6.2 percent. Food prices advanced 2.4 percent. Energy prices jumped 18.3 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy rose 6.0 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 1.3 percent for the two months ending in June. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home advanced 1.6 percent, primarily due to higher prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (6.1 percent). Prices for food away from home increased 0.8 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 2.4 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 2.6 percent, led by higher prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (7.3 percent). Prices for food away from home rose 2.2 percent since a year ago.

Energy

The energy index rose 4.7 percent for the two months ending in June. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (9.6 percent). Prices for both electricity and natural gas service were unchanged for the two-month period.

Energy prices jumped 18.3 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (42.1 percent). Prices paid for electricity advanced 0.5 percent, but prices for natural gas service declined 1.7 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.5 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for used cars and trucks (17.6 percent), recreation (3.6 percent), and shelter (0.4 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for apparel (-2.4 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-0.9 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 6.0 percent. Components contributing to the increase included used cars and trucks (46.7 percent) and shelter (3.0 percent).

The August 2021 Consumer Price Index for the Anchorage area is scheduled to be released on September 14, 2021.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measures 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 U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. 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; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000.  Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods 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 Urban Alaska area covered in this release consists of Anchorage and Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the State of Alaska.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments 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

Urban Alaska (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Apr. 2021	May 2021	Jun. 2021	Jun. 2020	Apr. 2021	May 2021
Expenditure category
All items	233.519	-	239.296	6.2	2.5	-
All items (1967=100)	623.294	-	638.714	-	-	-
Food and beverages	230.581	-	233.806	2.5	1.4	-
Food	238.736	-	241.855	2.4	1.3	-
Food at home	236.967	241.113	240.784	2.6	1.6	-0.1
Cereals and bakery products	244.907	-	251.370	6.2	2.6	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	238.063	-	252.639	7.3	6.1	-
Dairy and related products	226.903	-	228.109	-1.8	0.5	-
Fruits and vegetables	359.675	-	358.690	0.6	-0.3	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	152.271	-	157.814	3.9	3.6	-
Other food at home	194.942	-	191.211	-0.9	-1.9	-
Food away from home	238.543	-	240.469	2.2	0.8	-
Alcoholic beverages	153.369	-	157.206	3.7	2.5	-
Housing	209.749	-	210.231	2.8	0.2	-
Shelter	208.261	207.253	209.110	3.0	0.4	0.9
Rent of primary residence(2)	201.399	201.841	202.154	1.7	0.4	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)	206.461	207.209	208.349	2.0	0.9	0.6
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)	206.461	207.209	208.349	2.0	0.9	0.6
Fuels and utilities	347.283	-	347.286	0.8	0.0	-
Household energy	355.460	355.401	355.465	-0.1	0.0	0.0
Energy services	394.740	394.740	394.740	-0.6	0.0	0.0
Electricity	334.650	334.650	334.650	0.5	0.0	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service	474.924	474.924	474.924	-1.7	0.0	0.0
Household furnishings and operations	140.759	-	139.465	3.1	-0.9	-
Apparel	152.008	-	148.297	5.7	-2.4	-
Transportation	231.476	-	261.576	26.8	13.0	-
Private transportation	247.247	-	271.440	26.7	9.8	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	121.453	-	-	-	-	-
New vehicles(1)	256.658	-	-	-	-	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	319.416	-	375.475	46.7	17.6	-
Motor fuel	253.057	267.405	276.890	42.0	9.4	3.5
Gasoline (all types)	254.616	269.238	278.963	42.1	9.6	3.6
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	245.175	259.501	269.102	43.1	9.8	3.7
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	245.466	258.993	267.990	39.9	9.2	3.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	260.725	274.321	283.340	37.3	8.7	3.3
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	797.305	-	797.305	4.9	0.0	-
Medical care	664.289	-	-	-	-	-
Recreation(3)	128.520	-	133.188	5.3	3.6	-
Education and communication(3)	115.007	-	114.902	1.2	-0.1	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	757.141	-	757.964	0.5	0.1	-
Other goods and services	379.700	-	376.370	2.8	-0.9	-
Commodity and service group
All items	233.519	-	239.296	6.2	2.5	-
Commodities	193.596	-	199.011	9.1	2.8	-
Commodities less food & beverages	174.530	-	180.986	13.7	3.7	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	217.202	-	221.239	11.8	1.9	-
Durables	137.063	-	144.743	15.6	5.6	-
Services	267.498	-	273.528	4.4	2.3	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	218.672	-	224.670	6.7	2.7	-
All items less shelter	244.269	-	252.649	7.7	3.4	-
Commodities less food	173.876	-	180.209	13.1	3.6	-
Nondurables	224.873	-	228.475	6.4	1.6	-
Nondurables less food	212.343	-	216.412	11.0	1.9	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	364.693	-	380.423	5.9	4.3	-
Services less medical care services	244.149	-	250.517	4.7	2.6	-
Energy	296.605	305.038	310.656	18.3	4.7	1.8
All items less energy	230.180	-	235.476	5.4	2.3	-
All items less food and energy	229.050	-	234.745	6.0	2.5	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1978=100 base. (2) Indexes 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.
- Data not available NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.