Prices in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), edged down 0.1 percent for the two months ended in January 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that the decrease was influenced by lower prices for 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 rose 3.8 percent. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.6 percent over the year. Energy prices were up 10.0 percent, largely the result of higher prices for gasoline. Food prices rose 3.1 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 0.3 percent for the two months ended in January. Prices for food away from home advanced 1.2 percent, while prices for food at home declined 0.4 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 3.1 percent. Prices for food away from home advanced 4.7 percent since a year ago, and prices for food at home increased 1.7 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 4.7 percent for the two months ended in January. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-7.9 percent). Prices for electricity decreased 0.5 percent for the same period.

Energy prices rose 10.0 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (20.6 percent). Prices paid for electricity increased 1.0 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy inched up 0.2 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for shelter (0.4 percent) and household furnishings and operations (2.5 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for apparel (-4.1 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.6 percent. Higher shelter costs (4.6 percent) led the advance.

CPI-W

The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metropolitan area for January 2020 was 260.936.  The CPI-W edged up 0.1 percent over the two months and rose 3.8 percent over the year.

The March 2020 Consumer Price Index for the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area is scheduled to be released on April 10, 2020.

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