Prices in the Anchorage area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.4 percent for the two months ending in June 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the June increase was influenced by higher prices for food. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U fell 3.3 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices fell 18.9 percent. Energy prices decreased 16.0 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.8 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Urban Alaska, June 2020–June 2023

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Jun 2020	-3.8	-4.3
Aug 2020	-1.5	-2.0
Oct 2020	0.3	0.3
Dec 2020	0.3	0.4
Feb 2021	1.3	1.3
Apr 2021	4.8	3.7
Jun 2021	6.2	6.0
Aug 2021	5.7	4.5
Oct 2021	6.3	4.9
Dec 2021	7.2	5.7
Feb 2022	7.4	5.9
Apr 2022	7.5	5.2
Jun 2022	12.4	6.3
Aug 2022	7.6	6.7
Oct 2022	7.6	6.6
Dec 2022	5.4	5.6
Feb 2023	4.3	5.0
Apr 2023	3.1	5.4
Jun 2023	-3.3	1.8

Food prices advanced 1.2 percent for the two months ending in June. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home increased 0.2 percent, led by higher prices for cereals and bakery products (1.1 percent) and other food at home (1.0 percent). Prices for food away from home rose 3.4 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices fell 18.9 percent. Prices for food at home decreased 3.7 percent since a year ago, led by lower prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (-12.3 percent). Prices for food away from home decreased 37.3 percent.

The energy index rose 2.2 percent for the two months ending in June. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (4.9 percent). Prices for electricity and natural gas service were unchanged.

Energy prices decreased 16.0 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-26.6 percent). Prices paid for electricity advanced 5.4 percent, and prices for natural gas service increased 2.5 percent during the past year.

The index for all items less food and energy was unchanged in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for apparel (2.9 percent) and education and communication (2.7 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-2.8 percent) and shelter (-1.6 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.8 percent. Components contributing to the increase included medical care (6.7 percent) and shelter (2.5 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in used cars and trucks (-5.7 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-3.9 percent)).

The August 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Anchorage area is scheduled to be released on September 13, 2023.

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 Urban Alaska area covered in this release consists of Anchorage and Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the State of Alaska.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods

Urban Alaska (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes				Percent change from-
	Historical data	Apr. 2023	May 2023	Jun. 2023	Jun. 2022	Apr. 2023	May 2023
Expenditure category
All items		258.866	-	259.930	-3.3	0.4	-
All items (1967=100)		690.950	-	693.790	-	-	-
Food and beverages		254.135	-	257.076	-18.0	1.2	-
Food		263.475	-	266.733	-18.9	1.2	-
Food at home		255.818	255.858	256.261	-3.7	0.2	0.2
Cereals and bakery products		263.822	260.276	266.738	-3.4	1.1	2.5
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		231.548	231.597	231.095	-12.3	-0.2	-0.2
Dairy and related products		252.587	253.316	252.444	-0.2	-0.1	-0.3
Fruits and vegetables		395.003	381.150	392.278	0.7	-0.7	2.9
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		181.740	186.928	181.178	2.7	-0.3	-3.1
Other food at home		215.143	219.724	217.226	-3.0	1.0	-1.1
Food away from home		275.176	-	284.402	-37.3	3.4	-
Alcoholic beverages		164.907	-	164.969	2.2	0.0	-
Housing		231.437	-	227.832	1.6	-1.6	-
Shelter		235.080	235.394	231.340	2.5	-1.6	-1.7
Rent of primary residence(2)		225.935	226.218	226.298	5.5	0.2	0.0
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		235.319	235.258	231.398	2.7	-1.7	-1.6
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		235.319	235.258	231.398	2.7	-1.7	-1.6
Fuels and utilities		354.985	-	354.693	2.7	-0.1	-
Household energy		358.007	357.385	357.636	3.4	-0.1	0.1
Energy services		398.125	398.125	398.125	4.1	0.0	0.0
Electricity		336.551	336.551	336.551	5.4	0.0	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service		478.719	478.719	478.719	2.5	0.0	0.0
Household furnishings and operations		145.758	-	141.738	-3.9	-2.8	-
Apparel		153.739	-	158.217	3.0	2.9	-
Transportation		285.980	-	292.705	-6.5	2.4	-
Private transportation		288.461	-	297.033	-5.8	3.0	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		134.687	-	136.733	0.9	1.5	-
New vehicles(1)		280.319	-	280.280	3.1	0.0	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		362.026	-	377.449	-5.7	4.3	-
Motor fuel		319.662	323.195	334.230	-26.7	4.6	3.4
Gasoline (all types)		319.737	323.763	335.278	-26.6	4.9	3.6
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		307.901	311.693	323.399	-27.0	5.0	3.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		308.220	312.462	322.629	-25.7	4.7	3.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		327.100	331.553	340.768	-25.1	4.2	2.8
Medical care		-	-	733.136	6.7	-	-
Recreation(3)		141.333	-	140.543	1.7	-0.6	-
Education and communication(3)		111.737	-	114.736	-0.8	2.7	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		777.275	-	786.787	2.1	1.2	-
Other goods and services		440.363	-	448.774	9.5	1.9	-
Commodity and service group
All items		258.866	-	259.930	-3.3	0.4	-
Commodities		211.294	-	213.766	-11.4	1.2	-
Commodities less food & beverages		189.814	-	192.057	-6.5	1.2	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		242.516	-	246.257	-10.1	1.5	-
Durables		145.410	-	146.541	-3.3	0.8	-
Services		299.938	-	299.392	2.9	-0.2	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		243.280	-	243.685	-4.1	0.2	-
All items less shelter		268.591	-	272.075	-5.8	1.3	-
Commodities less food		189.078	-	191.186	-6.2	1.1	-
Nondurables		248.729	-	251.952	-14.9	1.3	-
Nondurables less food		236.527	-	239.801	-9.4	1.4	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)		406.373	-	412.458	3.5	1.5	-
Services less medical care services		275.503	-	273.554	2.4	-0.7	-
Energy		337.391	338.947	344.850	-16.0	2.2	1.7
All items less energy		254.628	-	255.341	-2.2	0.3	-
All items less food and energy		253.973	-	254.028	1.8	0.0	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1978=100 base. (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.
- Data not available NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.