The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Dallas-Fort Worth was unchanged in December and January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that declines in energy and food prices, down 5.9 and 0.5 percent, respectively, were balanced by a 0.7-percent increase in the index for all items less food and energy. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bimonthly changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

During the year ended in January 2016, the all items CPI-U rose 1.1 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.) This marked the first annual increase for the overall index since the year ended in November 2014 when prices rose 0.8 percent. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.3 percent during the latest period, the fastest annual rise since January 2013 (2.4 percent).

Food

Food prices fell 0.5 percent in December and January, after rising 1.2 percent in the previous two-month period. The decline in food prices was the first since June and July 2015. Current movements among the two components of the index were markedly different as prices for food at home (grocery store prices) decreased 1.5 percent while prices for food away from home increased 0.7 percent.

From January 2015 to January 2016, food prices edged up 0.2 percent, reflecting the combined effects of a 2.9-percent price rise for food away from home and a 1.9-percent decline in grocery store prices.

Energy

The energy index decreased 5.9 percent in December and January, after falling 5.3 percent in October and November. The biggest factor in the current two-month decline was a 10.9-percent decrease in the motor fuel index, though lower natural gas costs were another large contributor, down 9.9 percent. Electricity prices also slipped during the period, edging down 0.2 percent.

During the year ended in January 2016, energy costs registered a 9.6-percent decrease as prices fell for all three energy components. A 10.2-percent drop in household energy prices was the biggest factor in the decrease, as natural gas and electricity costs fell 18.2 and 8.7 percent, respectively. Also contributing to the overall energy decline were lower motor fuel prices, down 8.6 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.7 percent in December and January, after registering little change (0.1 percent) in October and November. Among the leading factors in the advance were higher prices for shelter and medical care, increasing 1.7 and 2.3 percent, respectively. Also contributing to the current advance were higher prices for new and used motor vehicles. Slowing these gains were lower prices for apparel (-7.2 percent), recreation (-1.6 percent), education and communication (-1.0 percent), and other goods and services (-0.5 percent).

From January 2015 to January 2016, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.3 percent. The biggest factor in the annual increase was a 4.8-percent rise in shelter costs, as the indexes rose for both renters’ costs (5.4 percent) and owners’ equivalent rent (4.4 percent). Other contributors to the annual rise included medical care (4.2 percent), education and communication (1.4 percent), and other goods and services (1.1 percent). Countering a portion of these advances, annual declines were registered for apparel (-4.8 percent) and recreation (-2.6 percent).

The March 2016 Consumer Price Index for All Items for Dallas-Fort Worth is scheduled to be released Thursday, April 14, 2016.

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 89 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 28 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 6,000 housing units and approximately 24,000 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 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 Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) includes Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Henderson, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, and Tarrant Counties.

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