Prices in the San Francisco area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 1.1 percent for the two months ending in April 2017, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the April increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 3.8 percent.  (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices jumped 10.8 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.8 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.9 percent for the two months ending in April. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home moved up 1.2 percent, and prices for food away from home advanced 0.5 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 1.2 percent. Prices for food away from home advanced 3.2 percent since a year ago, but prices for food at home declined 0.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index advanced 7.6 percent for the two months ending in April. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (5.5 percent). Prices for natural gas service jumped 15.4 percent, and prices for electricity rose 8.0 percent for the same period.

Energy prices moved up 10.8 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (10.8 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service jumped 19.3 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 7.5 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.8 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for other goods and services (5.6 percent), apparel (2.9 percent) and shelter (0.7 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-1.4 percent) and education and communication (-0.7 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 3.8 percent. Components contributing to the increase included other goods and services (7.0 percent) and shelter (6.4 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price declines in recreation (-2.2 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-2.1 percent).

Table A. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose CPI-U bi-monthly and annual percent changes (not seasonally adjusted)

Month	2012		2013		2014		2015		2016		2017
	Bi-monthly	Annual	Bi-monthly	Annual	Bi-monthly	Annual	Bi-monthly	Annual	Bi-monthly	Annual	Bi-monthly	Annual
February	1.1	3.0	1.3	2.4	1.2	2.4	1.0	2.5	0.9	3.0	0.8	3.4
April	0.9	2.1	0.8	2.4	1.2	2.8	1.1	2.4	0.7	2.7	1.1	3.8
June	0.3	2.6	0.5	2.6	0.7	3.0	0.6	2.3	0.6	2.7
August	0.6	2.8	0.1	2.0	0.0	3.0	0.3	2.6	0.7	3.1
October	0.7	3.2	0.2	1.6	0.5	3.2	0.4	2.6	0.9	3.6
December	-1.4	2.2	-0.4	2.6	-0.9	2.7	-0.3	3.2	-0.3	3.5

The June 2017 Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose is scheduled to be released on July 14, 2017.

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 4,000 housing units and approximately 26,000 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 Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA. metropolitan area covered in this release is comprised of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, and Solano Counties 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 and percent changes for selected periods

San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Feb. 2017	Mar. 2017	Apr. 2017	Apr. 2016	Feb. 2017	Mar. 2017
Expenditure category
All items	271.626	-	274.589	3.8	1.1	-
All items (1967=100)	835.053	-	844.164	-	-	-
Food and beverages	267.322	-	269.739	1.4	0.9	-
Food	267.295	-	269.594	1.2	0.9	-
Food at home	249.301	250.945	252.377	-0.6	1.2	0.6
Food away from home	289.007	-	290.329	3.2	0.5	-
Alcoholic beverages	273.109	-	276.953	3.1	1.4	-
Housing	319.808	-	322.893	5.9	1.0	-
Shelter	364.845	365.826	367.424	6.4	0.7	0.4
Rent of primary residence(1)	412.606	413.119	413.736	6.2	0.3	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)	394.419	395.478	396.982	6.5	0.6	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	394.419	395.478	396.982	6.5	0.6	0.4
Fuels and utilities	368.463	-	393.134	8.6	6.7	-
Household energy	321.319	332.391	353.423	10.9	10.0	6.3
Energy services(1)	321.687	333.050	354.799	11.0	10.3	6.5
Electricity(1)	334.735	355.832	361.663	7.5	8.0	1.6
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	279.426	271.611	322.541	19.3	15.4	18.8
Household furnishings and operations	136.113	-	134.163	-2.1	-1.4	-
Apparel	117.008	-	120.421	3.9	2.9	-
Transportation	188.125	-	191.477	3.6	1.8	-
Private transportation	178.984	-	181.998	4.8	1.7	-
Motor fuel	212.552	223.591	224.219	10.8	5.5	0.3
Gasoline (all types)	211.703	222.777	223.403	10.8	5.5	0.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)	211.554	222.801	223.399	10.8	5.6	0.3
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)	197.182	207.521	207.606	10.7	5.3	0.0
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)	202.054	211.635	212.482	10.7	5.2	0.4
Medical care	485.741	-	491.228	-	1.1	-
Recreation(5)	113.213	-	113.159	-2.2	0.0	-
Education and communication(5)	140.597	-	139.675	-2.0	-0.7	-
Other goods and services	440.022	-	464.568	7.0	5.6	-
Commodity and service group
All items	271.626	-	274.589	3.8	1.1	-
Commodities	182.562	-	185.172	1.9	1.4	-
Commodities less food & beverages	136.861	-	139.410	2.4	1.9	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	175.905	-	181.913	5.0	3.4	-
Durables	99.032	-	98.298	-1.9	-0.7	-
Services	345.954	-	349.254	4.6	1.0	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	262.875	-	265.735	3.9	1.1	-
All items less shelter	233.234	-	236.481	1.9	1.4	-
Commodities less food	142.626	-	145.241	2.4	1.8	-
Nondurables	222.737	-	227.167	2.9	2.0	-
Nondurables less food	183.218	-	189.121	4.8	3.2	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	337.052	-	341.580	1.8	1.3	-
Services less medical care services	337.396	-	340.568	4.8	0.9	-
Energy	255.631	266.851	274.960	10.8	7.6	3.0
All items less energy	275.735	-	277.881	3.5	0.8	-
All items less food and energy	277.857	-	279.988	3.8	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) Index is on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (5) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
- Data not available NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.