Gasoline prices averaged $2.348 a gallon in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton area in December 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden noted that area gasoline prices were down 53.6 cents compared to last December when they averaged $2.884 per gallon. Seattle area households paid an average of 10.2 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in December 2015, up from the 8.3 cents per kWh in December 2014. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.056 per therm in December was lower than the $1.214 per therm spent last year. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)

At $2.348 a gallon, Seattle area consumers paid 10.5 percent more than the $2.125 national average in December 2015. A year earlier, consumers in the Seattle area paid 10.2 percent more than the $2.618 national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of a gallon of gasoline has been within 10.5 percent of the national average in the month of December during the past five years. (See chart 1.)

The 10.2 cents per kWh Seattle households paid for electricity in December 2015 was 23.3 percent less than the nationwide average of 13.3 cents per kWh. Last December, electricity costs were 38.5 percent lower in Seattle compared to the nation. In each of the past five years during the month of December, prices paid by Seattle area consumers for electricity were less than the U.S. average by at least 23.3 percent.(See chart 2.)

Prices paid by Seattle area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.056 per therm, or 18.4 percent more compared to the national average in December 2015 ($0.892 per therm). A year earlier, area consumers paid 14.5 percent more price per therm for natural gas compared to the nation. In the past five years, the per therm cost for natural gas in December in the Seattle area has varied between 14.5 percent and 21.2 percent above the U.S. average. (See chart 3.)

The Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, Wash. metropolitan area consists of Kitsap, Thurston, Island, King, Snohomish, and Pierce Counties of Washington.

Technical Note

Average prices are estimated from Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for selected commodity series to support the research and analytic needs of CPI data users. Average prices for electricity, utility (piped) gas, and gasoline are published monthly for the U.S. city average, the 4 regions, the 3 population size classes, 10 region/size-class cross-classifications, and the 14 largest local index areas. For electricity, average prices per kilowatt-hour (kWh) and per 500 kWh are published. For utility (piped) gas, average prices per therm, per 40 therms, and per 100 therms are published. For gasoline, the average price per gallon is published. Average prices for commonly available grades of gasoline are published as well as the average price across all grades.

Price quotes for 40 therms and 100 therms of utility (piped) gas and for 500 kWh of electricity are collected in sample outlets for use in the average price programs only. Since they are for specified consumption amounts, they are not used in the CPI. All other price quotes used for average price estimation are regular CPI data.

With the exception of the 40 therms, 100 therms, and 500 kWh price quotes, all eligible prices are converted to a price per normalized quantity. These prices are then used to estimate a price for a defined fixed quantity.

The average price per kilowatt-hour represents the total bill divided by the kilowatt-hour usage. The total bill is the sum of all items applicable to all consumers appearing on an electricity bill including, but not limited to, variable rates per kWh, fixed costs, taxes, surcharges, and credits.  This calculation also applies to the average price per therm for utility (piped) gas.

Information from 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. Average prices for gasoline, electricty, and utility (piped) gas, Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton and the United States, December 2014-December 2015, not seasonally adjusted

Year and month	Gasoline per gallon		Electricity per kWh		Utillity (piped) gas per therm
	Seattle area	United States	Seattle area	United States	Seattle area	United States
2014
December	$2.884	$2.618	$0.083	$0.135	$1.214	$1.060
2015
January	2.348	2.170	0.096	0.138	1.216	1.036
February	2.358	2.308	0.096	0.138	1.216	1.007
March	2.904	2.544	0.096	0.136	1.216	0.985
April	2.745	2.545	0.098	0.137	1.216	0.947
May	3.049	2.832	0.098	0.137	1.253	0.930
June	3.104	2.889	0.102	0.143	1.250	0.942
July	3.199	2.893	0.102	0.142	1.250	0.933
August	3.094	2.745	0.102	0.142	1.250	0.932
September	2.791	2.463	0.102	0.141	1.250	0.921
October	2.493	2.357	0.102	0.136	1.252	0.909
November	2.414	2.249	0.102	0.134	1.056	0.903
December	2.348	2.125	0.102	0.133	1.056	0.892