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Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Prices in the Riverside area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 1.4 percent for the two months ending in March 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the March increase was influenced by higher prices for gasoline and shelter. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)
Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 4.3 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices rose 2.6 percent. Energy prices advanced 3.1 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of electricity. The index for all items less food and energy rose 4.7 percent over the year. (See table 1.)
FoodFood prices increased 0.4 percent for the two months ending in March. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home decreased 0.7 percent, led by lower prices for fruits and vegetables (-4.7 percent) and cereals and bakery products (-1.2 percent). Prices for food away from home rose 1.7 percent for the same period.
Over the year, food prices rose 2.6 percent. Prices for food at home declined 0.1 percent since a year ago, led by lower prices for fruits and vegetables (-4.4 percent). Prices for food away from home increased 6.6 percent.
EnergyThe energy index rose 6.1 percent for the two months ending in March. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (8.8 percent). Prices for electricity rose 3.2 percent, and prices for natural gas service advanced 0.6 percent for the same period.
Energy prices advanced 3.1 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for electricity (10.0 percent). Prices paid for gasoline advanced 1.3 percent, while prices for natural gas service decreased 4.3 percent during the past year.
All items less food and energyThe index for all items less food and energy increased 1.1 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for new and used motor vehicles (2.3 percent) and shelter (0.9 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for other goods and services (-6.8 percent).
Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 4.7 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (7.4 percent) and medical care (5.5 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in household furnishings and operations (-4.4 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (-3.4 percent).
Month | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2-month | 12-month | 2-month | 12-month | 2-month | 12-month | 2-month | 12-month | 2-month | 12-month | |
January | 0.5 | 3.0 | 0.9 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 8.6 | 1.3 | 7.3 | 0.0 | 2.9 |
March | 0.0 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 3.6 | 2.7 | 10.0 | 0.0 | 4.6 | 1.4 | 4.3 |
May | -0.2 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 5.9 | 1.4 | 9.4 | 0.8 | 3.9 | ||
July | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 6.5 | 1.1 | 9.2 | 0.6 | 3.4 | ||
September | 0.5 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 6.8 | 0.0 | 8.4 | 1.4 | 4.9 | ||
November | 0.4 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 7.9 | 0.6 | 7.5 | 0.0 | 4.3 |
The May 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Riverside area is scheduled to be released on June 12, 2024.
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 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metropolitan area includes Riverside and San Bernardino Counties in 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.
Item and Group | Indexes | Percent change from- | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Historical data | Jan. 2024 | Feb. 2024 | Mar. 2024 | Mar. 2023 | Jan. 2024 | Feb. 2024 | |
Expenditure category | |||||||
All items | 131.358 | - | 133.144 | 4.3 | 1.4 | - | |
Food and beverages | 134.015 | - | 134.572 | 2.5 | 0.4 | - | |
Food | 135.262 | - | 135.797 | 2.6 | 0.4 | - | |
Food at home | 131.852 | 131.947 | 130.972 | -0.1 | -0.7 | -0.7 | |
Cereals and bakery products | 153.524 | 150.044 | 151.710 | 1.8 | -1.2 | 1.1 | |
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs | 132.855 | 134.170 | 133.675 | -0.2 | 0.6 | -0.4 | |
Dairy and related products | 112.795 | 114.857 | 110.810 | -1.8 | -1.8 | -3.5 | |
Fruits and vegetables | 132.556 | 130.198 | 126.355 | -4.4 | -4.7 | -3.0 | |
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials | 130.411 | 133.867 | 135.187 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 1.0 | |
Other food at home | 126.411 | 126.647 | 125.873 | -0.1 | -0.4 | -0.6 | |
Food away from home | 140.638 | - | 143.003 | 6.6 | 1.7 | - | |
Alcoholic beverages | 110.907 | - | 111.830 | 0.3 | 0.8 | - | |
Housing | 138.264 | - | 139.682 | 5.9 | 1.0 | - | |
Shelter | 137.790 | 138.712 | 139.058 | 7.4 | 0.9 | 0.2 | |
Rent of primary residence | 142.915 | 143.368 | 143.807 | 5.9 | 0.6 | 0.3 | |
Owners' equiv. rent of residences | 137.195 | 137.954 | 138.189 | 8.1 | 0.7 | 0.2 | |
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence | 137.195 | 137.954 | 138.189 | 8.1 | 0.7 | 0.2 | |
Fuels and utilities | 161.457 | - | 165.092 | 6.5 | 2.3 | - | |
Household energy | 173.440 | 174.438 | 178.023 | 6.5 | 2.6 | 2.1 | |
Energy services | 174.859 | 175.970 | 179.606 | 6.8 | 2.7 | 2.1 | |
Electricity | 183.343 | 183.679 | 189.156 | 10.0 | 3.2 | 3.0 | |
Utility (piped) gas service | 149.174 | 153.301 | 150.015 | -4.3 | 0.6 | -2.1 | |
Household furnishings and operations | 117.771 | - | 118.505 | -4.4 | 0.6 | - | |
Apparel | 112.057 | - | 113.242 | -0.4 | 1.1 | - | |
Transportation | 132.350 | - | 139.741 | 4.6 | 5.6 | - | |
Private transportation | 133.887 | - | 142.395 | 4.7 | 6.4 | - | |
New and used motor vehicles | 113.428 | - | 115.982 | -3.4 | 2.3 | - | |
New vehicles | 114.021 | - | 114.308 | -2.5 | 0.3 | - | |
Used cars and trucks | 130.458 | - | 131.768 | -2.6 | 1.0 | - | |
Motor fuel | 147.254 | 153.203 | 159.812 | 1.0 | 8.5 | 4.3 | |
Gasoline (all types) | 147.146 | 153.039 | 160.072 | 1.3 | 8.8 | 4.6 | |
Gasoline, unleaded regular(1) | 147.450 | 153.515 | 160.667 | 1.3 | 9.0 | 4.7 | |
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(1) | 147.899 | 153.591 | 160.426 | 1.2 | 8.5 | 4.5 | |
Gasoline, unleaded premium(1) | 145.207 | 150.463 | 157.043 | 1.3 | 8.2 | 4.4 | |
Medical care | - | - | 127.704 | 5.5 | - | - | |
Recreation | 112.709 | - | 113.724 | 3.3 | 0.9 | - | |
Education and communication | 110.436 | - | 110.562 | 0.5 | 0.1 | - | |
Tuition, other school fees, and child care | 129.012 | - | 129.119 | 2.8 | 0.1 | - | |
Other goods and services | 134.621 | - | 125.499 | 3.5 | -6.8 | - | |
Commodity and service group | |||||||
All items | 131.358 | - | 133.144 | 4.3 | 1.4 | - | |
Commodities | 124.772 | - | 126.329 | 0.1 | 1.2 | - | |
Commodities less food & beverages | 119.884 | - | 122.070 | -1.1 | 1.8 | - | |
Nondurables less food & beverages | 127.475 | - | 131.823 | 1.8 | 3.4 | - | |
Durables | 112.000 | - | 111.816 | -4.4 | -0.2 | - | |
Services | 136.084 | - | 138.023 | 7.1 | 1.4 | - | |
Special aggregate indexes | |||||||
All items less medical care | 131.753 | - | 133.537 | 4.2 | 1.4 | - | |
All items less shelter | 128.044 | - | 130.101 | 2.5 | 1.6 | - | |
Commodities less food | 119.568 | - | 121.711 | -1.1 | 1.8 | - | |
Nondurables | 130.860 | - | 133.150 | 2.1 | 1.7 | - | |
Nondurables less food | 126.544 | - | 130.679 | 1.7 | 3.3 | - | |
Services less rent of shelter | 133.350 | - | 136.099 | 6.4 | 2.1 | - | |
Services less medical care services | 136.896 | - | 138.922 | 7.4 | 1.5 | - | |
Energy | 157.673 | 161.772 | 167.262 | 3.1 | 6.1 | 3.4 | |
All items less energy | 128.988 | - | 130.228 | 4.3 | 1.0 | - | |
All items less food and energy | 128.003 | - | 129.366 | 4.7 | 1.1 | - | |
Footnotes | |||||||
- Data not available |
Last Modified Date: Wednesday, April 10, 2024