Prices in the West Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.5 percent in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The January increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter, food, and apparel. (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 advanced 3.1 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices increased 7.1 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.0 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.5 percent for the month of January. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home and food away from home both rose 0.5 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 2.1 percent. Prices for food away from home increased 3.4 percent since a year ago, and prices for food at home increased 1.1 percent.

Energy

The energy index advanced 1.2 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (1.4 percent). Prices for electricity increased 1.3 percent, but prices for natural gas service decreased 0.5 percent for the same period.

Energy prices increased 7.1 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (11.4 percent). Prices paid for electricity rose 3.7 percent, but prices for natural gas service decreased 1.7 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.4 percent in January. Higher prices were reported for apparel (2.2 percent), medical care (0.6 percent), and shelter (0.4 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.0 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (4.4 percent) and medical care (2.4 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decline in new vehicles (-1.2 percent).

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

Month	2013		2014		2015		2016		2017		2018
	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual
January	0.3	1.7	0.3	1.7	-0.3	0.7	0.5	2.6	0.5	2.5	0.5	3.1
February	0.8	2.0	0.4	1.3	0.6	0.9	0.1	2.1	0.6	3.0
March	0.4	1.5	0.6	1.5	0.8	1.1	0.2	1.5	0.3	3.1
April	0.0	1.3	0.3	1.8	0.3	1.0	0.5	1.8	0.3	2.9
May	0.2	1.3	0.6	2.3	0.8	1.2	0.5	1.5	0.2	2.6
June	0.1	1.5	0.1	2.3	0.0	1.1	0.2	1.6	0.0	2.5
July	0.0	1.9	0.1	2.3	0.3	1.3	0.1	1.4	0.1	2.5
August	0.1	1.5	-0.1	2.1	-0.1	1.3	0.0	1.5	0.2	2.7
September	0.2	1.3	0.1	2.0	-0.2	1.0	0.3	2.0	0.5	2.9
October	-0.1	0.9	-0.1	2.0	0.0	1.1	0.3	2.3	0.3	2.9
November	-0.4	1.3	-0.6	1.7	-0.2	1.5	-0.2	2.3	0.0	3.1
December	0.0	1.8	-0.5	1.3	-0.1	1.8	0.0	2.5	0.1	3.1

The February 2018 Consumer Price Index for the West Region is scheduled to be released on March 13, 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 West Region covered in this release is comprised of the following thirteen states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

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

West (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Nov. 2017	Dec. 2017	Jan. 2018	Jan. 2017	Nov. 2017	Dec. 2017
Expenditure category
All Items	257.126	257.347	258.638	3.1	0.6	0.5
All items (December 1977=100)	415.629	415.987	418.073	-	-	-
Food and beverages	255.463	256.376	257.656	2.0	0.9	0.5
Food	255.236	256.154	257.498	2.1	0.9	0.5
Food at home	244.108	245.420	246.729	1.1	1.1	0.5
Cereals and bakery products	-	254.973	257.314	-	-	0.9
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	-	254.505	253.147	-	-	-0.5
Dairy and related products	-	228.435	227.833	-	-	-0.3
Fruits and vegetables	-	326.237	332.137	-	-	1.8
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	-	167.981	170.209	-	-	1.3
Other food at home	-	211.524	212.163	-	-	0.3
Food away from home	269.801	270.154	271.543	3.4	0.6	0.5
Alcoholic beverages	255.170	255.996	256.442	1.4	0.5	0.2
Housing	279.617	280.790	282.103	3.9	0.9	0.5
Shelter	321.991	323.233	324.386	4.4	0.7	0.4
Rent of primary residence(1)	339.973	342.109	343.295	4.7	1.0	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)	339.010	340.216	341.404	4.5	0.7	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	339.013	340.221	341.401	4.5	0.7	0.3
Fuels and utilities	289.512	290.634	293.786	2.8	1.5	1.1
Household energy	246.737	248.092	250.575	2.4	1.6	1.0
Energy services(1)	248.236	249.739	252.135	2.5	1.6	1.0
Electricity(1)	277.928	278.983	282.727	3.7	1.7	1.3
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	193.095	195.765	194.772	-1.7	0.9	-0.5
Household furnishings and operations	127.873	128.853	129.937	0.8	1.6	0.8
Apparel	118.553	114.047	116.516	0.2	-1.7	2.2
Transportation	207.818	207.212	208.490	4.8	0.3	0.6
Private transportation	202.613	202.433	203.570	5.3	0.5	0.6
New and used motor vehicles(3)	98.876	99.407	99.419	0.1	0.5	0.0
New vehicles	146.188	146.734	146.965	-1.2	0.5	0.2
New cars and trucks(3)(4)	101.528	101.910	102.078	-1.2	0.5	0.2
New cars(4)	142.820	143.318	143.406	-1.7	0.4	0.1
Used cars and trucks	130.151	131.270	131.703	0.0	1.2	0.3
Motor fuel	236.882	231.080	234.327	11.4	-1.1	1.4
Gasoline (all types)	235.686	229.776	233.056	11.4	-1.1	1.4
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	232.907	226.921	230.194	11.4	-1.2	1.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	225.115	220.467	223.076	11.5	-0.9	1.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	231.940	226.645	229.790	11.0	-0.9	1.4
Motor vehicle insurance(6)	-	803.388	808.172	-	-	0.6
Medical Care	484.696	484.898	487.607	2.4	0.6	0.6
Medical care commodities	376.052	375.618	379.413	5.0	0.9	1.0
Medical care services	518.795	519.234	521.556	1.8	0.5	0.4
Professional services	353.472	354.172	356.214	0.8	0.8	0.6
Recreation(3)	113.144	113.486	113.466	0.8	0.3	0.0
Education and communication(3)	136.503	136.336	136.314	-0.1	-0.1	0.0
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)	-	1,385.954	1,383.317	-	-	-0.2
Other goods and services	428.094	425.924	428.382	4.0	0.1	0.6
Commodity and Service Group
All Items	257.126	257.347	258.638	3.1	0.6	0.5
Commodities	181.303	180.621	181.796	2.1	0.3	0.7
Commodities less food & beverages	144.413	143.138	144.214	2.1	-0.1	0.8
Nondurables less food & beverages	187.376	184.168	186.549	4.5	-0.4	1.3
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel	235.672	233.215	235.508	5.9	-0.1	1.0
Durables	105.477	105.804	105.843	-1.2	0.3	0.0
Services	327.355	328.447	329.818	3.7	0.8	0.4
Rent of shelter(2)	342.816	344.127	345.360	4.4	0.7	0.4
Transportation services	307.585	308.597	309.895	6.0	0.8	0.4
Other services	345.295	346.360	346.508	1.2	0.4	0.0
Special aggregate indexes:
All items less medical care	246.723	246.945	248.172	3.2	0.6	0.5
All items less food	257.590	257.704	258.988	3.3	0.5	0.5
All items less shelter	231.779	231.566	232.916	2.4	0.5	0.6
Commodities less food	148.525	147.296	148.364	2.0	-0.1	0.7
Nondurables	221.572	220.251	222.154	3.2	0.3	0.9
Nondurables less food	192.421	189.420	191.703	4.3	-0.4	1.2
Nondurables less food and apparel	237.254	235.092	237.208	5.5	0.0	0.9
Services less rent of shelter(2)	344.306	345.232	346.931	2.7	0.8	0.5
Services less medical care services	313.983	315.113	316.419	3.9	0.8	0.4
Energy	244.002	241.328	244.320	7.1	0.1	1.2
All items less energy	260.214	260.653	261.831	2.9	0.6	0.5
All items less food and energy	261.853	262.213	263.366	3.0	0.6	0.4
Commodities less food and energy commodities	139.013	138.320	139.128	0.3	0.1	0.6
Energy commodities	241.600	235.730	239.090	11.2	-1.0	1.4
Services less energy services	333.212	334.281	335.602	3.8	0.7	0.4
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) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (6) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.
- Data not available Regions defined as the four Census regions. West includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.