Prices in the San Diego Area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 1.7 percent in the first half of 2017, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the six-month increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, six-month-to-six-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 3.3 percent.  (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices rose 9.3 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.4 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.4 percent in the first half of 2017. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home increased 1.2 percent, while prices for food away from home decreased 0.5 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices edged up 0.1 percent. Prices for food away from home advanced 0.3 percent since a year ago, while prices for food at home were unchanged.

Energy

The energy index increased 6.1 percent since the second half of 2016. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (7.7 percent). Prices for electricity increased 5.4 percent, while prices for natural gas service were unchanged for the same period.

Energy prices rose 9.3 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (8.3 percent). Prices paid for electricity and natural gas service rose 11.4 percent and 10.5 percent, respectively, during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.6 percent in the latest-six month period. Higher prices for apparel (5.3 percent), other goods and services (3.8 percent), and shelter (1.9 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for education and communication (-1.4 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-1.3 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.4 percent. Components contributing to the increase included apparel (10.9 percent), shelter (4.5 percent), and recreation (4.3 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decline in education and communication (-1.5 percent).

Table A. San Diego CPI-U monthly and annual percent changes (not seasonally adjusted)

Month	2012		2013		2014		2015		2016		2017
	Semi-annual	Annual	Semi-annual	Annual	Semi-annual	Annual	Semi-annual	Annual	Semi-annual	Annual	Semi-annual	Annual
First Half	1.3	1.7	0.6	0.9	1.4	2.4	0.9	0.8	0.4	2.0	1.7	3.3
Second Half	0.3	1.5	1.1	1.7	-0.1	1.3	1.6	2.4	1.5	2.0

The Second Half 2017 Consumer Price Index for the San Diego is scheduled to be released mid-January 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/cpi/.

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 San Diego, CA metropolitan area covered in this release consists of San Diego County in the State of California.

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 for semiannual averages and percent changes for selected periods

San Diego, CA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Semiannual average indexes			Percent change to 1st half 2017 from-
	1st half 2016	2nd half 2016	1st half 2017	1st half 2016	2nd half 2016
Expenditure category
All items	272.628	276.837	281.561	3.3	1.7
All items (1967=100)	921.839	936.069	952.043	-	-
Food and beverages	250.802	249.953	251.054	0.1	0.4
Food	247.966	247.261	248.274	0.1	0.4
Food at home	224.494	221.896	224.516	0.0	1.2
Food away from home	278.205	280.339	278.933	0.3	-0.5
Alcoholic beverages	271.582	269.043	271.156	-0.2	0.8
Housing	310.972	318.689	324.086	4.2	1.7
Shelter	350.446	359.328	366.122	4.5	1.9
Rent of primary residence	343.020	350.857	361.348	5.3	3.0
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)	372.674	379.648	386.679	3.8	1.9
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)	372.674	379.648	386.679	3.8	1.9
Fuels and utilities	284.088	297.785	307.267	8.2	3.2
Household energy	244.828	260.242	270.931	10.7	4.1
Energy services	240.003	256.076	266.827	11.2	4.2
Electricity	233.377	246.655	259.907	11.4	5.4
Utility (piped) gas service	185.479	204.947	204.875	10.5	0.0
Household furnishings and operations	183.793	184.004	181.619	-1.2	-1.3
Apparel	146.727	154.573	162.789	10.9	5.3
Transportation	205.418	205.124	213.765	4.1	4.2
Private transportation	196.071	196.296	205.400	4.8	4.6
Motor fuel	219.589	220.884	237.819	8.3	7.7
Gasoline (all types)	219.773	220.989	237.910	8.3	7.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular(2)	227.481	228.832	246.440	8.3	7.7
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(2)(3)	189.936	192.187	206.095	8.5	7.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium(2)	225.955	226.391	243.429	7.7	7.5
Medical care	-	-	-	-	-
Recreation(4)	149.835	155.012	156.316	4.3	0.8
Education and communication(4)	145.529	145.421	143.358	-1.5	-1.4
Other goods and services	376.381	376.440	390.846	3.8	3.8
Commodity and service group
All Items	272.628	276.837	281.561	3.3	1.7
Commodities	193.789	193.756	196.843	1.6	1.6
Commodities less food & beverages	163.718	164.100	168.180	2.7	2.5
Nondurables less food & beverages	182.225	185.256	192.748	5.8	4.0
Durables	145.336	142.460	142.441	-2.0	0.0
Services	342.113	350.117	356.289	4.1	1.8
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	264.169	268.293	273.132	3.4	1.8
All items less shelter	242.232	244.491	248.381	2.5	1.6
Commodities less food	168.454	168.727	172.749	2.5	2.4
Nondurables	216.911	218.079	222.520	2.6	2.0
Nondurables less food	189.833	192.515	199.708	5.2	3.7
Services less rent of shelter(1)	350.633	357.854	363.498	3.7	1.6
Services less medical care services	330.490	338.590	344.987	4.4	1.9
Energy	225.813	232.520	246.783	9.3	6.1
All items less energy	278.406	282.473	286.556	2.9	1.4
All items less food and energy	285.278	290.280	294.969	3.4	1.6
Footnotes (1) Index is on a December 1982=100 base. (2) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (3) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (4) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
- Data not available.