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18-1606-DAL
Thursday, October 11, 2018
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington rose 0.4 percent in August and September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that a 0.6-percent increase in the index for all items less food and energy was the biggest contributor, though food prices were also up, rising 0.4 percent. Partially countering these increases, energy costs declined 1.4 percent in August and September. (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 September 2018, the all items CPI-U rose 2.4 percent and the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.6 percent. The annual rates of gain slowed for both series from the previous 12-month increases. (See chart 1 and table 1.)
FoodFood prices rose 0.4 percent in August and September, after edging up 0.1 percent in June and July. Both sub-components contributed to the current bimonthly increase as food at home (grocery store) prices rose 0.5 percent and prices for food away from home increased 0.3 percent.
During the 12 months ending in September 2018, total food prices fell 0.5 percent, reflecting opposing movements between the two sub-components. A 3.0-percent decline in grocery store prices was partially offset by a 2.0-percent increase in prices for food away from home.
EnergyThe energy index fell 1.4 percent in August and September, following a 0.2-percent increase in June and July. The current decrease was the result of declines in household energy costs as electricity prices fell 4.4 percent and natural gas costs declined 1.1 percent. In contrast, motor fuel prices rose 0.4 percent.
During the year ended in September 2018, the energy index increased 4.9 percent. Higher prices for both electricity (6.4 percent) and motor fuel (4.8 percent) were factors in the energy index rise, while a 13.5-percent decline in natural gas costs partially countered those increases.
All items less food and energyThe index for all items less food and energy rose 0.6 percent in August and September after registering a 0.3-percent decline in June and July. The increased cost of apparel, up 12.4 percent, was the biggest contributor to the advance. Higher prices for shelter (0.5 percent) were another important factor in the rise, as were increases in the indexes for recreation (0.7 percent) and other goods and services (1.3 percent). In contrast, prices fell for medical care, down 0.3 percent, the first bimonthly decline in this index since January 2018.
From September 2017 to September 2018, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.6 percent. Higher shelter costs, up 3.7 percent, were responsible for the largest share of the annual rise, but increases in recreation (6.6 percent) and other goods and services (4.9 percent) also contributed.
The November 2018 Consumer Price Index for All Items for Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is scheduled to be released Wednesday, December 12, 2018.
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.
Item and Group | Indexes | Percent change from - | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jul. 2018 | Aug. 2018 | Sep. 2018 | Sep. 2017 | Jul. 2018 | Aug. 2018 | |
All items | 233.570 | - | 234.563 | 2.4 | 0.4 | - |
All items (1967 = 100) | 732.696 | - | 735.811 | |||
Food and beverages | 251.892 | - | 253.652 | -0.5 | 0.7 | - |
Food | 246.529 | - | 247.544 | -0.5 | 0.4 | - |
Food at home | 211.507 | 212.656 | 212.576 | -3.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
Cereals and bakery products | 250.801 | - | 255.424 | - | 1.8 | - |
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs | 244.402 | - | 245.949 | - | 0.6 | - |
Dairy and related products | 182.832 | - | 190.021 | - | 3.9 | - |
Fruits and vegetables | 203.355 | - | 203.360 | - | 0.0 | - |
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1) | 178.213 | - | 181.064 | - | 1.6 | - |
Other food at home | 198.898 | - | 195.793 | - | -1.6 | - |
Food away from home | 299.482 | - | 300.428 | 2.0 | 0.3 | - |
Alcoholic beverages | 314.804 | - | 337.220 | 0.5 | 7.1 | - |
Housing | 224.944 | - | 225.016 | 3.2 | 0.0 | - |
Shelter | 249.860 | 251.428 | 250.989 | 3.7 | 0.5 | -0.2 |
Rent of primary residence | 267.696 | 269.220 | 269.313 | 5.3 | 0.6 | 0.0 |
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2) | 267.122 | 268.663 | 269.186 | 3.7 | 0.8 | 0.2 |
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2) | 267.122 | 268.663 | 269.186 | 3.7 | 0.8 | 0.2 |
Fuels and utilities | 241.559 | - | 235.203 | 4.4 | -2.6 | - |
Household energy | 219.567 | 219.152 | 211.188 | 3.1 | -3.8 | -3.6 |
Energy services | 215.907 | 215.499 | 207.470 | 3.0 | -3.9 | -3.7 |
Electricity | 206.124 | 206.124 | 197.125 | 6.4 | -4.4 | -4.4 |
Utility (piped) gas service | 206.705 | 203.937 | 204.380 | -13.5 | -1.1 | 0.2 |
Household furnishings and operations | 120.157 | - | 120.018 | -1.9 | -0.1 | - |
Apparel | 102.892 | - | 115.649 | 1.3 | 12.4 | - |
Transportation | 213.339 | - | 211.906 | 2.1 | -0.7 | - |
Private transportation | 218.077 | - | 216.320 | 2.6 | -0.8 | - |
New and used motor vehicles(3) | 108.973 | - | 107.283 | - | -1.6 | - |
New vehicles(1) | 203.755 | - | 204.743 | - | 0.5 | - |
Used cars and trucks(1) | 330.264 | - | 316.525 | - | -4.2 | - |
Motor fuel | 249.979 | 247.731 | 251.061 | 4.8 | 0.4 | 1.3 |
Gasoline (all types) | 248.610 | 246.328 | 249.590 | 4.6 | 0.4 | 1.3 |
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4) | 239.132 | 236.986 | 240.043 | 4.4 | 0.4 | 1.3 |
263.806 | 258.430 | 265.183 | 7.6 | 0.5 | 2.6 | |
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4) | 265.521 | 263.364 | 266.800 | 6.5 | 0.5 | 1.3 |
Motor vehicle insurance(1) | 800.384 | - | 795.116 | - | -0.7 | - |
Medical care | 439.851 | - | 438.491 | 1.4 | -0.3 | - |
Recreation(3) | 118.727 | - | 119.571 | 6.6 | 0.7 | - |
Education and communication(3) | 134.745 | - | 135.131 | 0.9 | 0.3 | - |
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1) | 1,245.339 | - | 1,264.621 | - | 1.5 | - |
Other goods and services | 403.401 | - | 408.710 | 4.9 | 1.3 | - |
Commodity and service group | ||||||
Commodities | 175.380 | - | 177.032 | 0.6 | 0.9 | - |
Commodities less food and beverages | 140.573 | - | 142.078 | 1.1 | 1.1 | - |
Nondurables less food and beverages | 177.534 | - | 182.561 | 2.6 | 2.8 | - |
Durables | 109.303 | - | 108.088 | -0.7 | -1.1 | - |
Services | 290.337 | - | 290.707 | 3.5 | 0.1 | - |
Special aggregate indexes | ||||||
All items less shelter | 226.617 | - | 227.549 | 1.7 | 0.4 | - |
All items less medical care | 223.548 | - | 224.648 | 2.5 | 0.5 | - |
Commodities less food | 145.323 | - | 147.073 | 1.1 | 1.2 | - |
Nondurables | 211.909 | - | 215.701 | 1.1 | 1.8 | - |
Nondurables less food | 184.511 | - | 190.047 | 2.6 | 3.0 | - |
Services less rent of shelter(2) | 345.732 | - | 344.871 | 3.2 | -0.2 | - |
Services less medical care services | 275.125 | - | 275.518 | 3.7 | 0.1 | - |
Energy | 237.356 | 235.936 | 234.111 | 4.9 | -1.4 | -0.8 |
All items less energy | 237.289 | - | 238.686 | 2.2 | 0.6 | - |
All items less food and energy | 235.573 | - | 237.023 | 2.6 | 0.6 | - |
Footnotes | ||||||
- Data not available. |
Last Modified Date: Thursday, October 11, 2018