Prices in the San Francisco area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.6 percent for the two months ending in August 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the August increase was influenced by higher prices for education and communication and 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 4.3 percent. The 4.3 percent year-over-year increase is the largest since the 4.5 percent increase in October 2001.  (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices jumped 13.5 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 4.0 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 1.2 percent for the two months ending in August. (See table 1.) Prices for food away from home advanced 2.7 percent, but prices for food at home declined 0.4 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 2.8 percent. Prices for food away from home increased 5.7 percent since a year ago, but prices for food at home decreased 0.4 percent.

Energy

The energy index declined 0.3 percent for the two months ending in August. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-1.3 percent). Prices for natural gas service rose 6.2 percent, while prices for electricity were unchanged for the same period.

Energy prices jumped 13.5 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (23.8 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service increased 2.5 percent, and prices for electricity increased 0.3 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.5 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for apparel (6.5 percent), education and communication (3.8 percent), and shelter (0.6 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-1.7 percent) and medical care (-0.5 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 4.0 percent. Components contributing to the increase included other goods and services (7.2 percent), education and communication (5.5 percent), and shelter (4.2 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decline in apparel (-1.7 percent).

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

Month	2013		2014		2015		2016		2017		2018
	Bi-monthly	Annual	Bi-monthly	Annual	Bi-monthly	Annual	Bi-monthly	Annual	Bi-monthly	Annual	Bi-monthly	Annual
February	1.3	2.4	1.2	2.4	1.0	2.5	0.9	3.0	0.8	3.4	1.4	3.6
April	0.8	2.4	1.2	2.8	1.1	2.4	0.7	2.7	1.1	3.8	0.8	3.2
June	0.5	2.6	0.7	3.0	0.6	2.3	0.6	2.7	0.3	3.5	0.9	3.9
August	0.1	2.0	0.0	3.0	0.3	2.6	0.7	3.1	0.2	3.0	0.6	4.3
October	0.2	1.6	0.5	3.2	0.4	2.6	0.9	3.6	0.6	2.7
December	-0.4	2.6	-0.9	2.7	-0.3	3.2	-0.3	3.5	-0.1	2.9

The October 2018 Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward area is scheduled to be released on November 14, 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 94 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 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/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-Hayward, CA. metropolitan area covered in this release is comprised of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo 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-Hayward, CA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Jun. 2018	Jul. 2018	Aug. 2018	Aug. 2017	Jun. 2018	Jul. 2018
Expenditure category
All items	286.062	-	287.664	4.3	0.6	-
All items (1967=100)	879.435	-	884.358	-	-	-
Food and beverages	277.635	-	280.249	3.6	0.9	-
Food	274.904	-	278.339	2.8	1.2	-
Food at home	251.694	254.374	250.727	-0.4	-0.4	-1.4
Cereals and bakery products	260.077	-	259.513	-	-0.2	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	246.948	-	247.451	-	0.2	-
Dairy and related products	267.807	-	267.722	-	0.0	-
Fruits and vegetables	333.370	-	325.549	-	-2.3	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	202.207	-	198.443	-	-1.9	-
Other food at home	219.599	-	221.976	-	1.1	-
Food away from home	302.712	-	310.797	5.7	2.7	-
Food away from home	302.712	-	310.797	5.7	2.7	-
Alcoholic beverages	308.746	-	304.532	11.9	-1.4	-
Housing	337.975	-	339.571	3.9	0.5	-
Shelter	386.091	386.722	388.421	4.2	0.6	0.4
Rent of primary residence(2)	440.273	440.741	442.682	5.6	0.5	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	413.614	414.594	416.564	3.8	0.7	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	413.614	414.594	416.564	3.8	0.7	0.5
Fuels and utilities	399.068	-	403.866	2.0	1.2	-
Household energy	350.925	352.507	356.183	0.7	1.5	1.0
Energy services(2)	351.606	353.376	357.099	0.5	1.6	1.1
Electricity(2)	373.069	373.069	373.069	0.3	0.0	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	293.509	299.360	311.667	2.5	6.2	4.1
Household furnishings and operations	138.409	-	136.022	2.6	-1.7	-
Apparel	106.919	-	113.911	-1.7	6.5	-
Transportation	208.568	-	204.593	8.0	-1.9	-
Private transportation	201.553	-	199.212	9.4	-1.2	-
New and used motor vehicles(4)	97.703	-	96.122	-	-1.6	-
New vehicles(1)	165.081	-	159.487	-	-3.4	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	253.039	-	256.799	-	1.5	-
Motor fuel	277.231	275.852	273.651	23.8	-1.3	-0.8
Gasoline (all types)	276.204	274.766	272.614	23.8	-1.3	-0.8
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	276.486	275.073	272.770	23.9	-1.3	-0.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	257.711	256.137	254.060	23.6	-1.4	-0.8
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	260.934	259.483	258.266	23.3	-1.0	-0.5
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	505.695	-	500.310	-	-1.1	-
Medical care	511.465	-	508.677	3.8	-0.5	-
Recreation(6)	115.635	-	116.092	1.7	0.4	-
Education and communication(6)	143.185	-	148.682	5.5	3.8	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,664.953	-	1,787.966	-	7.4	-
Other goods and services	494.060	-	494.118	7.2	0.0	-
Commodity and service group
All items	286.062	-	287.664	4.3	0.6	-
Commodities	190.438	-	191.140	3.8	0.4	-
Commodities less food & beverages	143.374	-	143.146	3.9	-0.2	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	189.141	-	190.785	6.2	0.9	-
Durables	99.282	-	97.412	0.2	-1.9	-
Services	365.697	-	368.040	4.5	0.6	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	276.860	-	278.632	4.3	0.6	-
All items less shelter	244.644	-	245.933	4.3	0.5	-
Commodities less food	150.345	-	149.929	4.5	-0.3	-
Nondurables	234.667	-	236.807	4.7	0.9	-
Nondurables less food	198.269	-	199.338	6.8	0.5	-
Services less rent of shelter(3)	355.743	-	358.203	4.9	0.7	-
Services less medical care services	356.748	-	359.280	4.4	0.7	-
Energy	310.676	310.199	309.807	13.5	-0.3	-0.1
All items less energy	288.352	-	290.091	3.8	0.6	-
All items less food and energy	291.270	-	292.740	4.0	0.5	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base. (2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (3) Index is on a December 1982=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (6) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
- Data not available NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.