The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington fell 0.2 percent in June and July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that the decline was the result of a 0.3-percent decrease in the index for all items less food and energy. In contrast, costs for energy and food recorded small gains, up 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

During the year ended in July 2018, the all items CPI-U rose 3.5 percent and the index for all items less food and energy increased 3.0 percent. The annual rates of gain slowed for both series from the previous 12-month increases. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

Food prices were essentially unchanged, edging up 0.1 percent in June and July, after rising 0.3 percent in April and May. During the latest period, prices for food at home (grocery stores) fell 0.3 percent, but were countered by a 0.6-percent increase in prices for food away from home.

During the 12 months ending in July 2018, total food prices slipped 0.1 percent, reflecting opposing movements between the two sub-components. A 2.7-percent decrease in grocery store prices was nearly balanced by a 2.6-percent increase in prices for food away from home.

Energy

The energy index rose 0.2 percent in June and July, following an 11.5-percent climb in April and May. The current rise was the result of a 7.1-percent increase in electricity costs. Nearly offsetting this increase, prices fell for both gasoline (-3.6 percent) and natural gas (-1.1 percent). The latest bimonthly decline in gasoline prices followed a 17.0-percent surge in April and May.

During the year ended in July 2018, the energy index rose 15.8 percent. Higher gasoline prices, up 23.3 percent, were the largest factor in the energy index rise, though an 11.2-percent increase in electricity costs was another important contributor. In contrast, natural gas costs fell 11.2 percent during the latest 12-month period.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy fell 0.3 percent during June and July, after rising 0.9 percent in April and May. The current decline was driven by lower prices for apparel, which fell 6.1 percent. Lower prices for lodging away from home and airline fares, also played a role, as did declines in the cost of household furnishings and operations (-1.6 percent) and motor vehicle insurance (-1.2 percent). Partially countering these declines, the indexes for recreation, medical care, and other goods and services rose during the bimonthly period.

From July 2017 to July 2018, the index for all items less food and energy increased 3.0 percent. Higher shelter costs, up 4.4 percent, were responsible for the largest share of the annual rise, but increases in recreation and medical care also contributed. Countering a portion of these advances, education and communication costs slipped 0.1 percent during the previous 12 months.

The September 2018 Consumer Price Index for All Items for Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is scheduled to be released Thursday, October 11, 2018.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index for Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is published bi-monthly. 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 5,000 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 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-Arlington, Texas, Core Based Statistical Area includes Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Somervell, Tarrant, and Wise 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-Arlington, TX (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from -
	May 2018	Jun. 2018	Jul. 2018	Jul. 2017	May 2018	Jun. 2018
All items	234.034	-	233.570	3.5	-0.2	-
All items (1967 = 100)	734.152	-	732.696
Food and beverages	251.727	-	251.892	0.1	0.1	-
Food	246.216	-	246.529	-0.1	0.1	-
Food at home	212.145	211.744	211.507	-2.7	-0.3	-0.1
Cereals and bakery products	252.240	-	250.801	-	-0.6	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	243.522	-	244.402	-	0.4	-
Dairy and related products	199.451	-	182.832	-	-8.3	-
Fruits and vegetables	201.129	-	203.355	-	1.1	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	177.627	-	178.213	-	0.3	-
Other food at home	196.989	-	198.898	-	1.0	-
Food away from home	297.793	-	299.482	2.6	0.6	-
Alcoholic beverages	318.893	-	314.804	-0.3	-1.3	-
Housing	224.436	-	224.944	4.1	0.2	-
Shelter	250.028	248.655	249.860	4.4	-0.1	0.5
Rent of primary residence	266.000	267.496	267.696	5.9	0.6	0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	266.985	267.219	267.122	4.0	0.1	0.0
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	266.985	267.219	267.122	4.0	0.1	0.0
Fuels and utilities	232.389	-	241.559	7.7	3.9	-
Household energy	207.478	219.488	219.567	7.4	5.8	0.0
Energy services	203.961	215.831	215.907	7.5	5.9	0.0
Electricity	192.468	205.977	206.124	11.2	7.1	0.1
Utility (piped) gas service	208.990	207.080	206.705	-11.2	-1.1	-0.2
Household furnishings and operations	122.055	-	120.157	-2.4	-1.6	-
Apparel	109.574	-	102.892	3.8	-6.1	-
Transportation	216.875	-	213.339	6.3	-1.6	-
Private transportation	220.213	-	218.077	7.3	-1.0	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	108.185	-	108.973	-	0.7	-
New vehicles(1)	204.607	-	203.755	-	-0.4	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	326.378	-	330.264	-	1.2	-
Motor fuel	259.205	262.937	249.979	23.4	-3.6	-4.9
Gasoline (all types)	257.974	261.666	248.610	23.3	-3.6	-5.0
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	248.319	251.931	239.132	23.9	-3.7	-5.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	272.175	276.012	263.806	21.4	-3.1	-4.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	274.102	277.463	265.521	18.6	-3.1	-4.3
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	810.191	-	800.384	-	-1.2	-
Medical care	436.624	-	439.851	1.8	0.7	-
Recreation(3)	116.778	-	118.727	7.1	1.7	-
Education and communication(3)	134.952	-	134.745	-0.1	-0.2	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,238.524	-	1,245.339	-	0.6	-
Other goods and services	398.343	-	403.401	2.5	1.3	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	177.409	-	175.380	2.9	-1.1	-
Commodities less food and beverages	143.108	-	140.573	4.5	-1.8	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	182.282	-	177.534	8.1	-2.6	-
Durables	110.095	-	109.303	0.4	-0.7	-
Services	289.311	-	290.337	3.9	0.4	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	227.221	-	226.617	3.1	-0.3	-
All items less medical care	224.181	-	223.548	3.7	-0.3	-
Commodities less food	147.927	-	145.323	4.4	-1.8	-
Nondurables	214.739	-	211.909	3.9	-1.3	-
Nondurables less food	189.346	-	184.511	7.7	-2.6	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	342.799	-	345.732	3.3	0.9	-
Services less medical care services	274.311	-	275.125	4.1	0.3	-
Energy	236.870	244.412	237.356	15.8	0.2	-2.9
All items less energy	237.847	-	237.289	2.5	-0.2	-
All items less food and energy	236.257	-	235.573	3.0	-0.3	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a February 1978=100 base. (2) Indexes on a December 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.
- Data not available.