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News Release Information

20-579-KAN
Friday, April 10, 2020

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (816) 285-7000

Consumer Price Index, Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area – March 2020

Area prices were down 0.3 percent over the past two months, up 2.2 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), declined 0.3 percent for the two months ending in March 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Susan Mendez noted that the March 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 advanced 2.2 percent. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.5 percent over the year. Food prices rose 3.5 percent. Energy prices declined 5.9 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.5 percent for the two months ending in March. Prices for food at home increased 0.7 percent and prices for food away from home rose 0.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices were 3.5 percent higher. Prices for food at home advanced 2.5 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home rose 4.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 9.9 percent for the two months ending in March. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-17.9 percent). Prices for household energy rose 0.3 percent during the period.

Energy prices declined 5.9 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-9.7 percent). Lower prices for household energy costs (-3.1 percent) also contributed.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.1 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for household furnishings and operations (1.4 percent) and used cars and trucks (3.5 percent) were mostly offset by lower prices for apparel (-2.2 percent) and recreation (-0.9 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.5 percent. The largest contributor was higher costs for shelter, up 3.9 percent. Partly offsetting the increase was a price decline in apparel, down 2.1 percent.

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

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Impact on March 2020 Consumer Price Index Data

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) program suspended data collection by personal visit on March 16, 2020. When possible, data normally collected by personal visit were collected either online or by phone. Additionally, data collection in March was affected by the temporary closing or limited operations of certain types of establishments. These factors resulted in an increase in the number of prices being considered temporarily unavailable and imputed. While the CPI program attempted to collect as much data as possible, many indexes are based on smaller amounts of collected prices than usual, and a small number of indexes that are normally published were not published this month. Additional information is available at www.bls.gov/bls/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-bls-price-indexes.htm#CPI.

Specific information about the impact of COVID-19 on March 2020 CPI data collection is available at www.bls.gov/cpi/additional-resources/covid19-statement-march-2020.htm.


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 requestVoice 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 GroupIndexesPercent change from -
Jan.
2020
Feb.
2020
Mar.
2020
Mar.
2019
Jan.
2020
Feb.
2020

All items

270.952-270.1202.2-0.3-

All items (1967 = 100)

903.511-900.737   

Food and beverages

242.719-244.0773.30.6-

Food

247.322-248.6493.50.5-

Food at home

231.878231.851233.5712.50.70.7

Cereals and bakery products

282.871-287.5423.41.7-

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

220.009-220.6300.70.3-

Dairy and related products

197.713-210.8516.56.6-

Fruits and vegetables

279.807-283.3043.81.2-

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

171.888-165.5567.2-3.7-

Other food at home

206.141-206.572-0.40.2-

Food away from home

267.315-268.0614.60.3-

Alcoholic beverages

202.511-204.2110.60.8-

Housing

274.823-275.7833.70.3-

Shelter

319.992320.236320.5073.90.20.1

Rent of primary residence

332.516331.652331.9382.8-0.20.1

Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)

313.471314.018314.3354.00.30.1

Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)

313.471314.018314.3354.00.30.1

Fuels and utilities

236.793-238.806-0.60.9-

Household energy

153.476153.329153.931-3.10.30.4

Energy services

152.094152.007152.051-3.50.00.0

Electricity

157.806157.806157.8060.20.00.0

Utility (piped) gas service

------

Household furnishings and operations

120.325-122.0634.21.4-

Apparel

96.074-93.915-2.1-2.2-

Transportation

258.982-248.810-2.0-3.9-

Private transportation

256.162-247.474-1.2-3.4-

New and used motor vehicles(3)

107.334-107.315-1.70.0-

New vehicles(1)

221.630-218.890-1.3-1.2-

Used cars and trucks(1)

264.693-274.0381.73.5-

Motor fuel

215.576201.059177.553-9.6-17.6-11.7

Gasoline (all types)

213.871199.249175.609-9.7-17.9-11.9

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

206.082191.561167.896-10.3-18.5-12.4

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

216.053202.592183.284-6.3-15.2-9.5

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

241.517227.397205.384-7.1-15.0-9.7

Motor vehicle insurance(1)

2,995.891-3,026.6955.91.0-

Medical care

625.416-629.1572.10.6-

Recreation(3)

163.897-162.4930.5-0.9-

Education and communication(3)

123.687-124.3280.80.5-

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)

1,086.721-1,087.8582.30.1-

Other goods and services

373.601-380.4294.51.8-

Commodity and service group

Commodities

175.156-173.0341.6-1.2-

Commodities less food and beverages

141.523-138.2780.5-2.3-

Nondurables less food and beverages

169.790-161.498-2.9-4.9-

Durables

112.221-112.7364.30.5-

Services

356.266-356.8682.50.2-

Special aggregate indexes

All items less shelter

247.665-246.2311.2-0.6-

All items less medical care

254.850-253.8492.2-0.4-

Commodities less food

143.944-140.8450.6-2.2-

Nondurables

206.226-202.2430.4-1.9-

Nondurables less food

171.962-164.380-2.6-4.4-

Services less rent of shelter(2)

403.510-404.2240.70.2-

Services less medical care services

333.059-333.4952.40.1-

Energy

180.967173.993163.129-5.9-9.9-6.2

All items less energy

280.513-281.0532.60.2-

All items less food and energy

287.357-287.7672.50.1-

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.

 

Last Modified Date: Friday, April 10, 2020