Prices in the West Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), declined 0.4 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The April decrease was influenced by lower prices for gasoline. (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 1.3 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.1 percent over the year. Food prices rose 3.9 percent. Energy prices fell 14.3 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 1.5 percent for the month of April. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 2.6 percent, and prices for food away from home edged up 0.2 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 3.9 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 4.2 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home increased 3.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 7.9 percent over the month. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-14.1 percent). Prices for electricity decreased 0.8 percent, but prices for natural gas service increased 2.6 percent for the same period.

Energy prices fell 14.3 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-25.5 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service advanced 5.0 percent, and prices for electricity increased 2.4 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged down 0.2 percent in April. Lower prices for apparel (-3.2 percent), used cars and trucks (-0.9 percent), and recreation (-0.3 percent) were partially offset by higher prices for household furnishings and operations (1.4 percent), education and communication (0.3 percent), and shelter (0.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.1 percent. Components contributing to the increase included medical care (5.5 percent), household furnishings and operations (3.5 percent), and shelter (3.3 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in apparel (-4.7 percent) and used cars and trucks (-0.9 percent).

Table A. West region CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2016		2017		2018		2019		2020
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.5	2.6	0.5	2.5	0.5	3.1	0.2	2.7	0.3	2.9
February	0.1	2.1	0.6	3.0	0.5	3.1	0.2	2.4	0.4	3.1
March	0.2	1.5	0.3	3.1	0.4	3.2	0.4	2.4	-0.2	2.5
April	0.5	1.8	0.3	2.9	0.4	3.2	0.8	2.9	-0.4	1.3
May	0.5	1.5	0.2	2.6	0.5	3.5	0.5	2.9
June	0.2	1.6	0.0	2.5	0.2	3.6	0.0	2.7
July	0.1	1.4	0.1	2.5	0.1	3.6	0.0	2.7
August	0.0	1.5	0.2	2.7	0.2	3.6	0.1	2.6
September	0.3	2.0	0.5	2.9	0.3	3.4	0.3	2.6
October	0.3	2.3	0.3	2.9	0.4	3.5	0.5	2.8
November	-0.2	2.3	0.0	3.1	-0.2	3.3	-0.1	2.8
December	0.0	2.5	0.1	3.1	-0.2	3.1	-0.2	2.8

The May 2020 Consumer Price Index for the West Region is scheduled to be released on June 10, 2020.

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 93 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 29 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-
	Feb. 2020	Mar. 2020	Apr. 2020	Apr. 2019	Feb. 2020	Mar. 2020
Expenditure category
All Items	274.412	273.995	272.913	1.3	-0.5	-0.4
All items (December 1977=100)	443.572	442.898	441.149
Food and beverages	270.347	271.333	275.516	3.8	1.9	1.5
Food	270.567	271.492	275.641	3.9	1.9	1.5
Food at home	253.013	254.483	261.197	4.2	3.2	2.6
Cereals and bakery products	264.157	265.166	271.272	0.9	2.7	2.3
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	262.564	263.630	276.071	6.6	5.1	4.7
Dairy and related products	237.350	241.558	241.599	6.1	1.8	0.0
Fruits and vegetables	335.656	337.847	342.233	1.7	2.0	1.3
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	177.397	179.269	187.682	7.4	5.8	4.7
Other food at home	214.762	214.953	219.675	3.4	2.3	2.2
Food away from home	293.380	293.552	294.153	3.6	0.3	0.2
Alcoholic beverages	264.063	265.791	270.351	2.7	2.4	1.7
Housing	305.030	304.886	305.807	3.3	0.3	0.3
Shelter	353.541	353.446	354.156	3.3	0.2	0.2
Rent of primary residence(1)	376.628	377.417	378.119	4.2	0.4	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)	371.409	372.093	372.566	3.6	0.3	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	371.422	372.108	372.571	3.6	0.3	0.1
Fuels and utilities	309.627	309.696	309.517	2.8	0.0	-0.1
Household energy	259.601	259.304	258.870	2.7	-0.3	-0.2
Energy services(1)	261.609	261.370	261.216	3.0	-0.2	-0.1
Electricity(1)	293.999	294.333	292.080	2.4	-0.7	-0.8
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	200.386	198.659	203.872	5.0	1.7	2.6
Household furnishings and operations	134.328	133.972	135.860	3.5	1.1	1.4
Apparel	117.068	116.235	112.484	-4.7	-3.9	-3.2
Transportation	216.984	213.878	204.370	-8.1	-5.8	-4.4
Private transportation	212.275	210.630	201.473	-7.5	-5.1	-4.3
New and used motor vehicles(3)	99.722	100.255	99.753	-0.5	0.0	-0.5
New vehicles	148.965	149.093	149.164	1.2	0.1	0.0
New cars and trucks(3)(4)	103.472	103.547	103.600	1.2	0.1	0.1
New cars(4)	147.771	147.940	147.766	1.9	0.0	-0.1
Used cars and trucks	132.052	135.137	133.884	-0.9	1.4	-0.9
Motor fuel	254.399	242.430	208.592	-25.2	-18.0	-14.0
Gasoline (all types)	253.140	241.209	207.227	-25.5	-18.1	-14.1
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	249.696	237.743	203.402	-26.1	-18.5	-14.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	244.018	234.805	205.018	-22.5	-16.0	-12.7
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	250.522	239.430	209.613	-22.8	-16.3	-12.5
Motor vehicle insurance(6)	842.220	850.000	793.060	-6.8	-5.8	-6.7
Medical Care	533.413	536.698	535.571	5.5	0.4	-0.2
Medical care commodities	425.570	428.797	427.784	10.7	0.5	-0.2
Medical care services	566.670	569.968	568.807	4.3	0.4	-0.2
Professional services	361.591	363.126	363.232	1.1	0.5	0.0
Recreation(3)	116.291	116.013	115.634	0.5	-0.6	-0.3
Education and communication(3)	138.112	138.229	138.623	1.4	0.4	0.3
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)	1,496.885	1,497.109	1,497.312	2.5	0.0	0.0
Other goods and services	458.649	459.989	460.098	3.3	0.3	0.0
Commodity and Service Group
All Items	274.412	273.995	272.913	1.3	-0.5	-0.4
Commodities	188.567	188.077	186.623	-0.7	-1.0	-0.8
Commodities less food & beverages	148.421	147.396	143.882	-3.8	-3.1	-2.4
Nondurables less food & beverages	195.785	192.993	184.066	-7.5	-6.0	-4.6
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel	251.154	247.003	234.472	-8.3	-6.6	-5.1
Durables	105.843	105.990	106.093	0.5	0.2	0.1
Services	354.386	354.069	353.443	2.4	-0.3	-0.2
Rent of shelter(2)	376.555	376.453	377.209	3.4	0.2	0.2
Transportation services	320.819	314.092	302.810	-6.1	-5.6	-3.6
Other services	363.197	363.911	364.152	2.2	0.3	0.1
Special aggregate indexes:
All items less medical care	262.619	262.049	260.972	0.9	-0.6	-0.4
All items less food	275.184	274.548	272.609	0.8	-0.9	-0.7
All items less shelter	243.367	242.825	241.044	0.1	-1.0	-0.7
Commodities less food	152.699	151.744	148.426	-3.5	-2.8	-2.2
Nondurables	233.240	232.275	229.695	-1.2	-1.5	-1.1
Nondurables less food	200.950	198.445	190.374	-6.6	-5.3	-4.1
Nondurables less food and apparel	252.180	248.657	237.950	-7.1	-5.6	-4.3
Services less rent of shelter(2)	365.862	365.238	362.787	1.1	-0.8	-0.7
Services less medical care services	339.575	339.019	338.430	2.2	-0.3	-0.2
Energy	260.843	253.650	233.488	-14.3	-10.5	-7.9
All items less energy	277.645	277.685	277.889	2.3	0.1	0.1
All items less food and energy	279.692	279.573	279.072	2.1	-0.2	-0.2
Commodities less food and energy commodities	141.386	141.536	141.293	1.0	-0.1	-0.2
Energy commodities	259.104	247.053	212.911	-25.0	-17.8	-13.8
Services less energy services	361.104	360.782	360.127	2.4	-0.3	-0.2
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) Indexes 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.