Prices in the West Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), were unchanged in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that lower gasoline prices had the largest downward impact on the index, but rising prices for components such as shelter and food helped to offset the decline. (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 1.3 percent. (See chart 1.) This marks the 17th consecutive month in which consumer prices rose by less than 3.0 percent on an annual basis in the West. Energy prices decreased 3.1 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.7 percent since April 2012.

Food

Food prices rose 0.3 percent for the month of April. (See table 1.) Prices for food away from home rose 0.6 percent during the period, while prices for food at home were unchanged.

Over the year, food prices rose 1.6 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 1.1 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home advanced 2.2 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 1.6 percent over the month. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-2.7 percent). Prices for electricity decreased 1.4 percent, but prices for natural gas service advanced 6.2 percent in April.

Energy prices decreased 3.1 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-7.1 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service advanced 5.5 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 4.5 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 April. Higher prices for used cars and trucks (1.2 percent), apparel (0.7 percent), other goods and services (0.6 percent), and shelter (0.2 percent) led the advance. Partially offsetting the increases were lower prices for categories including medical care (-0.5 percent), education and communication (-0.4 percent), and recreation (-0.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.7 percent. Components contributing to the increase included medical care services (3.1 percent) and shelter (2.4 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price declines in categories such as medical care commodities (- 2.7 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-0.3 percent).

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 88 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 87 urban areas across the country from about 4,000 housing units and approximately 26,000 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 the 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/pdf/homch17.pdf.

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: 1-800-877-8339.

Last Modified Date: May 16, 2013