Prices in the Phoenix area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 1.5 percent for the two months ending in June 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the June increase was influenced by higher prices for all items less food and energy. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 2.0 percent. The The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.2 percent over the year. Food prices rose 4.1 percent. Energy prices dropped 14.0 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.5 percent for the two months ending in June. (See table 1.) Prices for food away from home increased 0.7 percent, and prices for food at home advanced 0.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 4.1 percent. Prices for food at home increased 5.4 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home increased 3.0 percent.

Energy

The energy index advanced 6.2 percent for the two months ending in June. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for electricity (14.1 percent). Prices for gasoline rose 0.6 percent, but prices for natural gas service decreased 8.8 percent for the same period.

Energy prices dropped 14.0 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-24.4 percent). Prices for natural gas service decreased 5.8 percent, and prices paid for electricity decreased 4.7 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.3 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for household furnishings and operations (2.0 percent) and shelter (0.7 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-1.8 percent) and other goods and services (-1.3 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.2 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (5.4 percent) and other goods and services (2.1 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in apparel (-9.3 percent).

The August 2020 Consumer Price Index for the Phoenix area is scheduled to be released on September 11, 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 89 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 87 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 24,000 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/homch17_a.htm.

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 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale metropolitan area covered in this release consists of Maricopa and Pinal Counties in the State of Arizona.

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

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale (December 2001=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Apr. 2020	May 2020	Jun. 2020	Jun. 2019	Apr. 2020	May 2020
Expenditure category
All items	143.734	-	145.849	2.0	1.5	-
Food and beverages	154.298	-	154.862	4.0	0.4	-
Food	155.382	-	156.145	4.1	0.5	-
Food at home	152.830	153.166	153.259	5.4	0.3	0.1
Cereals and bakery products	194.110	-	192.901	3.7	-0.6	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	191.344	-	204.754	13.5	7.0	-
Dairy and related products	122.517	-	124.824	19.2	1.9	-
Fruits and vegetables	133.007	-	130.907	1.1	-1.6	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	116.769	-	110.366	1.9	-5.5	-
Other food at home	147.569	-	146.525	0.8	-0.7	-
Food away from home	161.139	-	162.284	3.0	0.7	-
Alcoholic beverages	145.653	-	143.529	2.8	-1.5	-
Housing	151.552	-	154.077	4.3	1.7	-
Shelter	160.080	161.137	161.121	5.4	0.7	0.0
Rent of primary residence	171.397	172.388	172.093	7.1	0.4	-0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of residences	158.604	159.306	159.323	5.6	0.5	0.0
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence	158.604	159.306	159.323	5.6	0.5	0.0
Fuels and utilities	153.727	-	168.298	-1.8	9.5	-
Household energy	150.961	175.700	168.921	-4.3	11.9	-3.9
Energy services	150.714	175.483	168.685	-4.4	11.9	-3.9
Electricity	159.960	190.685	182.590	-4.7	14.1	-4.2
Utility (piped) gas service	103.611	93.853	94.488	-5.8	-8.8	0.7
Household furnishings and operations	99.034	-	101.064	0.8	2.0	-
Apparel	122.352	-	120.909	-9.3	-1.2	-
Transportation	119.276	-	122.679	-7.2	2.9	-
Private transportation	121.806	-	126.042	-5.8	3.5	-
New and used motor vehicles	-	-	-	-	-	-
New vehicles	-	-	-	-	-	-
Used cars and trucks	85.418	-	83.856	-2.9	-1.8	-
Motor fuel	193.452	178.814	194.120	-24.3	0.3	8.6
Gasoline (all types)	193.309	178.740	194.404	-24.4	0.6	8.8
Gasoline, unleaded regular(1)	192.376	177.496	193.389	-25.1	0.5	9.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(1)	210.479	196.353	206.867	-23.3	-1.7	5.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium(1)	200.530	187.390	203.051	-20.4	1.3	8.4
Motor vehicle insurance	124.569	-	166.092	-1.7	33.3	-
Medical care	-	-	-	-	-	-
Recreation	116.832	-	116.618	0.6	-0.2	-
Education and communication	116.867	-	117.052	0.2	0.2	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care	-	-	-	-	-	-
Other goods and services	151.567	-	149.581	2.1	-1.3	-
Commodity and service group
All items	143.734	-	145.849	2.0	1.5	-
Commodities	122.985	-	123.599	-0.6	0.5	-
Commodities less food & beverages	107.528	-	108.149	-3.2	0.6	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	141.058	-	140.969	-6.1	-0.1	-
Durables	78.536	-	79.538	0.0	1.3	-
Services	158.083	-	161.310	3.5	2.0	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	140.543	-	142.302	1.1	1.3	-
All items less shelter	135.351	-	137.934	0.1	1.9	-
Commodities less food	108.865	-	109.414	-3.0	0.5	-
Nondurables	148.057	-	148.301	-1.0	0.2	-
Nondurables less food	141.162	-	140.941	-5.6	-0.2	-
Services less rent of shelter	155.096	-	160.848	1.1	3.7	-
Services less medical care services	154.527	-	157.376	3.0	1.8	-
Energy	172.760	180.564	183.424	-14.0	6.2	1.6
All items less energy	141.929	-	143.603	3.3	1.2	-
All items less food and energy	139.832	-	141.633	3.2	1.3	-
Footnotes (1) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
- Data not available NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.