Prices in the West Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), edged up 0.2 percent in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The January increase was influenced by higher prices for gasoline and shelter. (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 rose 1.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) This is the tenth consecutive month of year-over-year increases less than 2.0 percent. The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.3 percent over the year. Food prices increased 4.7 percent. Energy prices declined 4.2 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices were unchanged for the month of January. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home edged down 0.1 percent. Prices for cereals and bakery products declined (-1.5 percent), but were partially offset by higher prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (0.8 percent). Prices for food away from home inched up 0.2 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 4.7 percent. Prices for food at home increased 4.8 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home increased 4.5 percent, led by increases in the price of meats, poultry, fish and eggs (+8.2 percent).

Energy

The energy index rose 2.3 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (3.7 percent). Prices for natural gas service rose 1.5 percent, and prices for electricity increased 0.3 percent for the same period.

Energy prices declined 4.2 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-9.8 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service rose 5.5 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 3.0 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.1 percent in January. Higher prices for apparel (2.3 percent) and shelter (0.2 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for recreation (-2.0 percent) and education and communication (-0.5 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.3 percent. Components contributing to the increase included new and used vehicles (4.7 percent), household furnishings and operations (4.2 percent), and shelter (1.5 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in motor vehicle insurance (-3.4 percent), apparel (-2.9 percent), and recreation (-2.0 percent).

Table A. West region CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2017		2018		2019		2020		2021
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.5	2.5	0.5	3.1	0.2	2.7	0.3	2.9	0.2	1.4
February	0.6	3.0	0.5	3.1	0.2	2.4	0.4	3.1
March	0.3	3.1	0.4	3.2	0.4	2.4	-0.2	2.5
April	0.3	2.9	0.4	3.2	0.8	2.9	-0.4	1.3
May	0.2	2.6	0.5	3.5	0.5	2.9	0.1	0.8
June	0.0	2.5	0.2	3.6	0.0	2.7	0.4	1.2
July	0.1	2.5	0.1	3.6	0.0	2.7	0.5	1.7
August	0.2	2.7	0.2	3.6	0.1	2.6	0.3	1.9
September	0.5	2.9	0.3	3.4	0.3	2.6	0.0	1.6
October	0.3	2.9	0.4	3.5	0.5	2.8	0.2	1.2
November	0.0	3.1	-0.2	3.3	-0.1	2.8	0.0	1.4
December	0.1	3.1	-0.2	3.1	-0.2	2.8	-0.1	1.5

The February 2021 Consumer Price Index for the West Region is scheduled to be released on March 10, 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 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-
	Nov. 2020	Dec. 2020	Jan. 2021	Jan. 2020	Nov. 2020	Dec. 2020
Expenditure category
All Items	276.875	276.593	277.238	1.4	0.1	0.2
All items (December 1977=100)	447.552	447.097	448.139
Food and beverages	279.784	280.962	281.122	4.7	0.5	0.1
Food	280.006	281.330	281.443	4.7	0.5	0.0
Food at home	261.562	263.334	263.024	4.8	0.6	-0.1
Cereals and bakery products	267.946	269.442	265.321	0.9	-1.0	-1.5
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	279.246	279.407	281.551	8.2	0.8	0.8
Dairy and related products	247.654	249.450	249.225	4.2	0.6	-0.1
Fruits and vegetables	343.848	345.758	346.758	3.7	0.8	0.3
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	186.217	188.808	189.380	7.4	1.7	0.3
Other food at home	217.966	220.154	218.670	3.9	0.3	-0.7
Food away from home	303.997	304.699	305.392	4.5	0.5	0.2
Alcoholic beverages	273.357	272.690	273.440	4.3	0.0	0.3
Housing	308.596	308.596	309.310	1.9	0.2	0.2
Shelter	356.170	356.259	357.040	1.5	0.2	0.2
Rent of primary residence(1)	381.102	381.592	381.621	1.7	0.1	0.0
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)	375.921	376.555	376.862	1.7	0.3	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	375.899	376.521	376.828	1.7	0.2	0.1
Fuels and utilities	318.237	318.685	320.809	3.6	0.8	0.7
Household energy	267.499	267.916	269.583	3.6	0.8	0.6
Energy services(1)	269.487	269.870	271.372	3.5	0.7	0.6
Electricity(1)	301.284	301.284	302.211	3.0	0.3	0.3
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	210.442	211.838	214.943	5.5	2.1	1.5
Household furnishings and operations	138.617	138.186	138.132	4.2	-0.3	0.0
Apparel	112.429	109.417	111.966	-2.9	-0.4	2.3
Transportation	212.040	211.613	213.427	-1.5	0.7	0.9
Private transportation	208.483	209.457	211.674	-0.3	1.5	1.1
New and used motor vehicles(3)	103.300	103.780	103.808	4.7	0.5	0.0
New vehicles	149.975	151.498	151.328	2.2	0.9	-0.1
New cars and trucks(3)(4)	104.147	105.216	105.131	2.2	0.9	-0.1
New cars(4)	148.081	149.827
Used cars and trucks	146.016	145.018	144.269	10.3	-1.2	-0.5
Motor fuel	223.629	224.302	232.603	-9.9	4.0	3.7
Gasoline (all types)	222.923	223.441	231.807	-9.8	4.0	3.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	219.156	219.641	228.073	-10.1	4.1	3.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	218.198	218.122	225.173	-9.2	3.2	3.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	223.957	224.743	232.297	-8.4	3.7	3.4
Motor vehicle insurance(6)	785.488	796.456	810.395	-3.4	3.2	1.8
Medical Care	539.106	537.478	539.245	1.0	0.0	0.3
Medical care commodities	423.166	420.843	419.214	-3.2	-0.9	-0.4
Medical care services	574.911	573.504	576.341	2.0	0.2	0.5
Professional services	365.380	364.747	367.490	1.8	0.6	0.8
Recreation(3)	117.628	116.617	114.324	-2.0	-2.8	-2.0
Education and communication(3)	141.387	141.355	140.694	2.0	-0.5	-0.5
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)	1,513.933	1,513.978	1,503.207	0.4	-0.7	-0.7
Other goods and services	459.954	461.308	469.789	2.8	2.1	1.8
Commodity and Service Group
All Items	276.875	276.593	277.238	1.4	0.1	0.2
Commodities	190.633	190.461	191.414	2.0	0.4	0.5
Commodities less food & beverages	147.598	146.924	148.131	0.1	0.4	0.8
Nondurables less food & beverages	186.996	185.582	189.441	-3.4	1.3	2.1
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel	239.460	239.120	243.907	-3.5	1.9	2.0
Durables	109.943	109.782	109.262	4.1	-0.6	-0.5
Services	357.159	356.772	357.050	1.1	0.0	0.1
Rent of shelter(2)	379.313	379.409	380.246	1.5	0.2	0.2
Transportation services	308.576	304.439	306.105	-3.9	-0.8	0.5
Other services	370.056	368.948	364.854	0.4	-1.4	-1.1
Special aggregate indexes:
All items less medical care	264.938	264.713	265.309	1.5	0.1	0.2
All items less food	276.506	275.961	276.694	0.9	0.1	0.3
All items less shelter	245.763	245.337	245.928	1.4	0.1	0.2
Commodities less food	152.149	151.471	152.674	0.3	0.3	0.8
Nondurables	233.294	233.136	235.212	1.2	0.8	0.9
Nondurables less food	193.319	191.949	195.618	-2.7	1.2	1.9
Nondurables less food and apparel	242.722	242.348	246.701	-2.7	1.6	1.8
Services less rent of shelter(2)	368.966	367.921	367.521	0.6	-0.4	-0.1
Services less medical care services	341.980	341.661	341.769	1.0	-0.1	0.0
Energy	246.044	246.618	252.230	-4.2	2.5	2.3
All items less energy	281.300	280.958	281.271	1.8	0.0	0.1
All items less food and energy	282.323	281.681	282.032	1.3	-0.1	0.1
Commodities less food and energy commodities	143.829	143.016	143.491	2.2	-0.2	0.3
Energy commodities	228.422	229.130	237.605	-9.7	4.0	3.7
Services less energy services	363.601	363.169	363.379	1.0	-0.1	0.1
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) 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. (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.