The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Dallas-Fort Worth was little changed in October and November, edging up 0.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that a 0.8-percent increase in the index for all items less food and energy was nearly balanced by a 4.6-percent decline in energy costs and a 1.0-percent decline in food prices. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bimonthly changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

During the year ended in November 2017, the all items CPI-U rose 3.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.3 percent during the latest 12-month period, its highest rate of annual increase since March 2009.

Food

Food prices fell 1.0 percent in October and November, after rising 0.9 percent in August and September. During the latest period, prices for food at home dropped 2.3 percent, their largest decline since March and April 2009, while prices for food away from home edged up 0.2 percent during the latest two-month period.

From November 2016 to November 2017, total food prices rose 0.2 percent. This movement reflected the combined effects of a 2.1-percent increase in prices for food away from home and a 1.5-percent decrease in prices for food at home. A year ago, prices for food at home (grocery store prices) fell 2.1 percent, and during the year ended in November 2015, food at home prices were unchanged.

Energy

The energy index fell 4.6 percent in October and November, following an 8.9-percent increase in August and September. Prices fell for all three of the major components within the energy index, but the largest contributor was an 8.3-percent decline in motor fuel prices. The cost of natural gas fell 1.1 percent and electricity prices were down 0.3 percent.

During the year ended in November 2017, the energy index rose 7.4 percent. As in the bimonthly period, higher prices for motor fuel, up 14.9 percent, were the largest contributor to the energy index rise. Natural gas prices increased 2.4 percent and electricity costs were little changed, up 0.1 percent, during the previous 12 months.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.8 percent in October and November, following a 1.0-percent rise in August and September. Higher shelter costs were the largest contributor as prices for owners’ equivalent rent were up 1.1 percent and renters’ costs rose 1.3 percent. Other large contributors to the increase included recreation (2.2 percent) and education and communication (1.1 percent). Offsetting a portion of these increases, prices fell 1.9 percent for apparel and slipped 0.1 percent for medical care.

From November 2016 to November 2017, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.3 percent. Higher shelter costs, up 6.6 percent, were responsible for the largest share of the annual increase. The shelter advance reflected a 6.5-percent advance in owners’ equivalent rent and a 7.4-percent increase in renters’ costs. Partially countering these increases, prices declined over the year for two components: education and communication (-3.8 percent) and medical care (-0.3 percent).

The January 2018 Consumer Price Index for All Items for Dallas-Fort Worth is scheduled to be released Wednesday, February 14, 2018.

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.

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,
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from -
	Sep. 2017	Oct. 2017	Nov. 2017	Nov. 2016	Sep. 2017	Oct. 2017
All items	229.056	-	229.352	3.2	0.1	-
All items (1967 = 100)	718.537	-	719.463
Food and beverages	255.004	-	252.167	0.5	-1.1	-
Food	248.899	-	246.343	0.2	-1.0	-
Food at home	219.152	217.621	214.180	-1.5	-2.3	-1.6
Food away from home	294.530	-	295.192	2.1	0.2	-
Alcoholic beverages	335.388	-	328.606	3.9	-2.0	-
Housing	218.044	-	219.947	5.6	0.9	-
Shelter	241.939	243.012	243.824	6.6	0.8	0.3
Rent of primary residence(1)	255.682	256.919	258.881	7.4	1.3	0.8
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)(2)	259.576	260.549	262.342	6.5	1.1	0.7
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)(2)	259.576	260.549	262.342	6.5	1.1	0.7
Fuels and utilities	225.345	-	228.404	3.0	1.4	-
Household energy	204.906	204.740	203.859	0.7	-0.5	-0.4
Energy services(1)(3)	201.437	201.313	200.439	0.6	-0.5	-0.4
Electricity(1)	185.316	185.316	184.676	0.1	-0.3	-0.3
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	236.207	235.473	233.603	2.4	-1.1	-0.8
Household furnishings and operations	122.296	-	123.573	0.9	1.0	-
Apparel	114.143	-	112.004	3.4	-1.9	-
Transportation	207.623	-	204.502	4.3	-1.5	-
Private transportation	210.841	-	206.969	4.8	-1.8	-
Motor fuel	239.464	214.264	219.686	14.9	-8.3	2.5
Gasoline (all types)	238.503	212.922	218.351	14.9	-8.4	2.5
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	230.010	204.340	209.550	14.9	-8.9	2.5
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	246.381	226.682	233.799	15.2	-5.1	3.1
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	250.440	231.975	237.537	14.9	-5.2	2.4
Medical care	432.588	-	432.142	-0.3	-0.1	-
Recreation(6)	112.198	-	114.664	3.2	2.2	-
Education and communication(6)	133.865	-	135.373	-3.8	1.1	-
Other goods and services	389.735	-	394.361	0.6	1.2	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	176.010	-	173.353	2.0	-1.5	-
Commodities less food and beverages	140.481	-	138.030	2.9	-1.7	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	178.021	-	172.752	4.9	-3.0	-
Durables	108.826	-	108.542	0.6	-0.3	-
Services	280.890	-	284.005	3.9	1.1	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	223.718	-	223.251	1.5	-0.2	-
All items less medical care	219.171	-	219.500	3.5	0.2	-
Commodities less food	145.429	-	142.872	2.9	-1.8	-
Nondurables	213.311	-	209.040	2.6	-2.0	-
Nondurables less food	185.292	-	179.955	4.8	-2.9	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	334.206	-	339.191	0.8	1.5	-
Services less medical care services	265.729	-	269.031	4.5	1.2	-
Energy	223.254	210.879	213.065	7.4	-4.6	1.0
All items less energy	233.624	-	234.845	2.9	0.5	-
All items less food and energy	231.024	-	232.802	3.3	0.8	-
Footnotes (1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (2) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Prior to January 2011 this series was titled Gas (piped) and electricity. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (6) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.