The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the Denver area rose 0.7 percent over the two months ended in May 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that the increase was led by higher prices for gasoline. Overall, energy costs were up 11.3 percent. Food prices increased 0.4 percent and the all items less food and energy index crept up 0.1 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 1.6 percent, led by higher prices for shelter (2.4 percent). Lower prices for apparel (-5.2 percent), electricity (-9.0 percent) and food at home (-2.1 percent) moderated the increase. Overall, prices for food rose 0.6 percent over the year and the index for all items less food and energy was up 2.0 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.4 percent during the April-May period reflecting a 1.7-percent increase in prices for food away from home. Prices for food at home were down 0.8 percent.

Over the year, the food index rose 0.6 percent due to a 3.6-percent increase in prices for food away home. Costs for food at home declined 2.1 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 11.3 percent over the two-month pricing period ending in May. The increase was primarily due to a 22.5-percent rise in prices for gasoline. Lower prices for electricity (-2.7 percent) and utility (piped) gas service (-3.8 percent) did little to slow the advance.

Over the year, the energy index decreased 2.2 percent reflecting lower prices for all major components except gasoline. Prices for gasoline were up 0.5 percent over the year. Electricity costs declined 9.0 percent and utility (piped) gas service prices were 0.8 percent lower.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy crept up 0.1 percent during the April-May pricing period.   Higher prices for public transportation and new vehicles contributed to the increase. Household furnishings and operations and apparel prices were among those that moderated the increase with declines of 2.0 percent and 2.5 percent respectively.

From May 2018 to May 2019, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.0 percent. The broad-based increase was led by higher prices for shelter (2.4 percent). Higher costs for medical care (3.1 percent) and new vehicles (5.5 percent) were also among those that contributed to the gain. Apparel (-5.2 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-2.6 percent) were among the indexes that registered lower prices and helped to moderate the increase in the all items less food and energy index.

CPI-W

The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO metropolitan area for May 2019 was 256.352.  The CPI-W increased 0.7 percent over the 2 months and increased 1.4 percent over the year.

The Consumer Price Index for June 2019 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, July 11, 2019, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

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 approximately 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 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 (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 ww.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 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metropolitan area is comprised of Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Gilpin, Jefferson, and Park counties in Colorado.

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,
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from -
	Mar. 2019	Apr. 2019	May 2019	May 2018	Mar. 2019	Apr. 2019
All items	264.332	-	266.280	1.6	0.7	-
All items (1967 = 100)	881.436	-	887.934
Food and beverages	236.310	-	237.198	0.7	0.4	-
Food	240.244	-	241.229	0.6	0.4	-
Food at home	227.780	224.170	226.018	-2.1	-0.8	0.8
Cereals and bakery products	278.023	-	284.754	-3.6	2.4	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	219.017	-	219.248	0.7	0.1	-
Dairy and related products	198.073	-	184.443	-7.4	-6.9	-
Fruits and vegetables	273.030	-	267.864	-2.8	-1.9	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	154.504	-	156.226	0.0	1.1	-
Other food at home	207.394	-	205.532	-1.8	-0.9	-
Food away from home	256.333	-	260.680	3.6	1.7	-
Alcoholic beverages	203.074	-	202.926	1.6	-0.1	-
Housing	266.012	-	264.664	1.5	-0.5	-
Shelter	308.358	305.000	307.719	2.4	-0.2	0.9
Rent of primary residence	322.919	322.894	323.868	3.1	0.3	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	302.301	302.290	302.955	2.1	0.2	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	302.301	302.290	302.955	2.1	0.2	0.2
Fuels and utilities	240.157	-	235.338	-3.0	-2.0	-
Household energy	158.889	154.116	154.053	-6.4	-3.0	0.0
Energy services	157.518	152.694	152.694	-6.4	-3.1	0.0
Electricity	157.540	153.291	153.291	-9.0	-2.7	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service	159.868	153.847	153.847	-0.8	-3.8	0.0
Household furnishings and operations	117.185	-	114.838	-2.6	-2.0	-
Apparel	95.941	-	93.525	-5.2	-2.5	-
Transportation	253.795	-	269.716	2.8	6.3	-
Private transportation	250.445	-	263.404	2.9	5.2	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	109.164	-	110.024	3.1	0.8	-
New vehicles(1)	221.723	-	227.316	5.5	2.5	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	269.406	-	266.501	1.9	-1.1	-
Motor fuel	196.321	224.130	240.051	0.5	22.3	7.1
Gasoline (all types)	194.424	222.333	238.244	0.5	22.5	7.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	187.110	214.711	230.628	0.3	23.3	7.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	195.505	222.166	236.893	-1.4	21.2	6.6
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	221.150	248.654	263.374	1.7	19.1	5.9
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	2,858.006	-	2,856.141	6.1	-0.1	-
Medical care	616.374	-	612.075	3.1	-0.7	-
Recreation(3)	161.672	-	161.448	0.0	-0.1	-
Education and communication(3)	123.373	-	123.386	1.6	0.0	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,063.647	-	1,063.647	3.9	0.0	-
Other goods and services	364.148	-	370.428	4.1	1.7	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	170.344	-	174.169	0.9	2.2	-
Commodities less food and beverages	137.534	-	142.210	1.0	3.4	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	166.343	-	175.145	0.7	5.3	-
Durables	108.091	-	109.605	1.4	1.4	-
Services	348.089	-	348.021	1.9	0.0	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	243.377	-	246.555	1.1	1.3	-
All items less medical care	248.381	-	250.555	1.4	0.9	-
Commodities less food	140.066	-	144.624	1.0	3.3	-
Nondurables	201.383	-	206.637	0.7	2.6	-
Nondurables less food	168.752	-	176.970	0.7	4.9	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	401.351	-	402.237	1.4	0.2	-
Services less medical care services	325.690	-	325.891	1.8	0.1	-
Energy	173.422	185.136	193.100	-2.2	11.3	4.3
All items less energy	273.974	-	274.399	1.8	0.2	-
All items less food and energy	280.880	-	281.214	2.0	0.1	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a January 1978=100 base. (2) Indexes on a November 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Index on a December 1993=100 base.
- Data not available.