Prices in the West Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.5 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The February increase was influenced by higher prices for gasoline 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 rose 1.6 percent. This is the eleventh consecutive month of year-over-year increases less than 2.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices rose 4.5 percent. Energy prices crept up 0.2 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of electricity. The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.2 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.4 percent for the month of February. (See table 1.) Prices for food away from home increased 0.5 percent. Prices for food at home rose 0.4 percent. Higher prices for other food at home (1.3 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for dairy and related products (-1.2 percent).

Over the year, food prices rose 4.5 percent. Prices for food away from home advanced 4.6 percent since a year ago, and prices for food at home rose 4.3 percent, influenced by higher prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (7.8 percent).

Energy

The energy index rose 3.6 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (5.2 percent). Prices for electricity advanced 2.4 percent, but prices for natural gas service decreased 0.4 percent for the same period.

Energy prices crept up 0.2 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for electricity (5.2 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service increased 6.8 percent, but prices for gasoline declined 3.7 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent in February. Higher prices for motor vehicle insurance (2.9 percent), recreation (1.0 percent), and shelter (0.2 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for alcoholic beverages (-0.4 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.2 percent. Components contributing to the increase included new and used motor vehicles (4.3 percent), household furnishings and operations (3.0 percent), and shelter (1.2 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in apparel (-3.2 percent) and recreation (-0.7 percent).

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

Month	2017		2018		2019		2020		2021
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.5	2.5	0.5	3.1	0.2	2.7	0.3	2.9	0.2	1.4
February	0.6	3.0	0.5	3.1	0.2	2.4	0.4	3.1	0.5	1.6
March	0.3	3.1	0.4	3.2	0.4	2.4	-0.2	2.5
April	0.3	2.9	0.4	3.2	0.8	2.9	-0.4	1.3
May	0.2	2.6	0.5	3.5	0.5	2.9	0.1	0.8
June	0.0	2.5	0.2	3.6	0.0	2.7	0.4	1.2
July	0.1	2.5	0.1	3.6	0.0	2.7	0.5	1.7
August	0.2	2.7	0.2	3.6	0.1	2.6	0.3	1.9
September	0.5	2.9	0.3	3.4	0.3	2.6	0.0	1.6
October	0.3	2.9	0.4	3.5	0.5	2.8	0.2	1.2
November	0.0	3.1	-0.2	3.3	-0.1	2.8	0.0	1.4
December	0.1	3.1	-0.2	3.1	-0.2	2.8	-0.1	1.5

The March 2021 Consumer Price Index for the West Region is scheduled to be released on April 13, 2021.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measures 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 U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. 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 6,000 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; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000.  Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods 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-
	Dec. 2020	Jan. 2021	Feb. 2021	Feb. 2020	Dec. 2020	Jan. 2021
Expenditure category
All Items	276.593	277.238	278.702	1.6	0.8	0.5
All items (December 1977=100)	447.097	448.139	450.506
Food and beverages	280.962	281.122	282.161	4.4	0.4	0.4
Food	281.330	281.443	282.643	4.5	0.5	0.4
Food at home	263.334	263.024	263.956	4.3	0.2	0.4
Cereals and bakery products	269.442	265.321	265.829	0.6	-1.3	0.2
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	279.407	281.551	283.155	7.8	1.3	0.6
Dairy and related products	249.450	249.225	246.346	3.8	-1.2	-1.2
Fruits and vegetables	345.758	346.758	345.409	2.9	-0.1	-0.4
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	188.808	189.380	190.533	7.4	0.9	0.6
Other food at home	220.154	218.670	221.463	3.1	0.6	1.3
Food away from home	304.699	305.392	306.955	4.6	0.7	0.5
Alcoholic beverages	272.690	273.440	272.459	3.2	-0.1	-0.4
Housing	308.596	309.310	310.182	1.7	0.5	0.3
Shelter	356.259	357.040	357.670	1.2	0.4	0.2
Rent of primary residence(1)	381.592	381.621	382.538	1.6	0.2	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)	376.555	376.862	377.607	1.7	0.3	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	376.521	376.828	377.574	1.7	0.3	0.2
Fuels and utilities	318.685	320.809	325.202	5.0	2.0	1.4
Household energy	267.916	269.583	274.344	5.7	2.4	1.8
Energy services(1)	269.870	271.372	276.192	5.6	2.3	1.8
Electricity(1)	301.284	302.211	309.398	5.2	2.7	2.4
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	211.838	214.943	214.093	6.8	1.1	-0.4
Household furnishings and operations	138.186	138.132	138.389	3.0	0.1	0.2
Apparel	109.417	111.966	113.304	-3.2	3.6	1.2
Transportation	211.613	213.427	216.515	-0.2	2.3	1.4
Private transportation	209.457	211.674	215.294	1.4	2.8	1.7
New and used motor vehicles(3)	103.780	103.808	104.034	4.3	0.2	0.2
New vehicles	151.498	151.328	151.487	1.7	0.0	0.1
New cars and trucks(3)(4)	105.216	105.131	105.229	1.7	0.0	0.1
New cars(4)	149.827		150.286	1.7	0.3
Used cars and trucks	145.018	144.269	145.121	9.9	0.1	0.6
Motor fuel	224.302	232.603	244.582	-3.9	9.0	5.1
Gasoline (all types)	223.441	231.807	243.806	-3.7	9.1	5.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	219.641	228.073	240.237	-3.8	9.4	5.3
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	218.122	225.173	235.437	-3.5	7.9	4.6
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	224.743	232.297	242.779	-3.1	8.0	4.5
Motor vehicle insurance(6)	796.456	810.395	833.674	-1.0	4.7	2.9
Medical Care	537.478	539.245	539.796	1.2	0.4	0.1
Medical care commodities	420.843	419.214	409.235	-3.8	-2.8	-2.4
Medical care services	573.504	576.341	580.214	2.4	1.2	0.7
Professional services	364.747	367.490	374.088	3.5	2.6	1.8
Recreation(3)	116.617	114.324	115.448	-0.7	-1.0	1.0
Education and communication(3)	141.355	140.694	141.118	2.2	-0.2	0.3
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)	1,513.978	1,503.207	1,506.289	0.6	-0.5	0.2
Other goods and services	461.308	469.789	473.042	3.1	2.5	0.7
Commodity and Service Group
All Items	276.593	277.238	278.702	1.6	0.8	0.5
Commodities	190.461	191.414	192.894	2.3	1.3	0.8
Commodities less food & beverages	146.924	148.131	149.705	0.9	1.9	1.1
Nondurables less food & beverages	185.582	189.441	192.047	-1.9	3.5	1.4
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel	239.120	243.907	247.400	-1.5	3.5	1.4
Durables	109.782	109.262	110.063	4.0	0.3	0.7
Services	356.772	357.050	358.426	1.1	0.5	0.4
Rent of shelter(2)	379.409	380.246	380.966	1.2	0.4	0.2
Transportation services	304.439	306.105	307.975	-4.0	1.2	0.6
Other services	368.948	364.854	366.539	0.9	-0.7	0.5
Special aggregate indexes:
All items less medical care	264.713	265.309	266.806	1.6	0.8	0.6
All items less food	275.961	276.694	278.202	1.1	0.8	0.5
All items less shelter	245.337	245.928	247.717	1.8	1.0	0.7
Commodities less food	151.471	152.674	154.189	1.0	1.8	1.0
Nondurables	233.136	235.212	237.069	1.6	1.7	0.8
Nondurables less food	191.949	195.618	197.997	-1.5	3.2	1.2
Nondurables less food and apparel	242.348	246.701	249.717	-1.0	3.0	1.2
Services less rent of shelter(2)	367.921	367.521	369.885	1.1	0.5	0.6
Services less medical care services	341.661	341.769	342.976	1.0	0.4	0.4
Energy	246.618	252.230	261.331	0.2	6.0	3.6
All items less energy	280.958	281.271	282.229	1.7	0.5	0.3
All items less food and energy	281.681	282.032	282.949	1.2	0.5	0.3
Commodities less food and energy commodities	143.016	143.491	143.952	1.8	0.7	0.3
Energy commodities	229.130	237.605	249.676	-3.6	9.0	5.1
Services less energy services	363.169	363.379	364.566	1.0	0.4	0.3
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.