Prices in the Seattle area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), edged up 0.2 percent for the two months ending in June 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the June increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter and recreation. (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 increased 0.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.1 percent over the year. Food prices rose 5.2 percent. Energy prices dropped 14.8 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 at home advanced 0.8 percent, while prices for food away from home were unchanged for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 5.2 percent. Prices for food at home increased 5.9 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home advanced 4.4 percent.

Energy

The energy index moved down 0.2 percent for the two months ending in June. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for natural gas service (-4.3 percent). Prices for gasoline inched down 0.1 percent, but prices for electricity rose 0.8 percent for the same period.

Energy prices dropped 14.8 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-25.4 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service rose 9.0 percent, and prices for electricity increased 1.4 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all less food and energy rose 0.2 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for apparel (4.1 percent), recreation (2.5 percent), and shelter (0.4 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-1.7 percent), household furnishings and operations (-1.1 percent), and education and communication (-0.7 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.1 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (3.6 percent) and medical care (2.4 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in apparel (-5.4 percent) and used cars and trucks (-3.3 percent).

Table A. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2016		2017		2018		2019		2020
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	0.2	2.2	1.0	3.4	0.8	3.3	0.7	2.7	1.0	2.5
April	1.1	2.5	0.8	3.1	0.8	3.3	0.5	2.4	-0.6	1.3
June	0.9	1.8	0.8	3.0	0.8	3.3	0.7	2.3	0.2	0.9
August	0.3	2.1	-0.2	2.5	-0.3	3.1	0.6	3.2
October	0.0	2.4	0.5	3.0	0.4	3.1	-0.6	2.2
December	0.0	2.6	0.5	3.5	0.2	2.8	0.3	2.2

The August 2020 Consumer Price Index for the Seattle 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 94 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 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/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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA. metropolitan area covered in this release is comprised of King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties in the State of Washington.

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

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (1982-84=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	280.484	-	281.055	0.9	0.2	-
All items (1967=100)	855.025	-	856.764	-	-	-
Food and beverages	286.133	-	288.774	4.8	0.9	-
Food	290.923	-	292.237	5.2	0.5	-
Food at home	267.831	267.244	270.013	5.9	0.8	1.0
Cereals and bakery products	317.045	-	303.237	-0.3	-4.4	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	232.225	-	240.243	10.6	3.5	-
Dairy and related products	228.942	-	239.761	12.9	4.7	-
Fruits and vegetables	404.772	-	412.102	1.5	1.8	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	342.323	-	337.909	11.1	-1.3	-
Other food at home	222.158	-	222.317	4.2	0.1	-
Food away from home	326.660	-	326.729	4.4	0.0	-
Alcoholic beverages	236.020	-	250.088	0.9	6.0	-
Housing	339.029	-	339.670	3.2	0.2	-
Shelter	390.109	394.223	391.737	3.6	0.4	-0.6
Rent of primary residence(2)	400.789	403.365	403.095	4.8	0.6	-0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	413.375	414.911	414.385	4.1	0.2	-0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	413.375	414.911	414.385	4.1	0.2	-0.1
Fuels and utilities	280.128	-	279.628	3.0	-0.2	-
Household energy	249.108	248.301	248.339	2.6	-0.3	0.0
Energy services(2)	295.169	293.960	293.960	2.4	-0.4	0.0
Electricity(2)	321.535	324.170	324.170	1.4	0.8	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	169.760	162.430	162.430	9.0	-4.3	0.0
Household furnishings and operations	184.163	-	182.133	-2.0	-1.1	-
Apparel	118.257	-	123.056	-5.4	4.1	-
Transportation	213.554	-	209.356	-8.7	-2.0	-
Private transportation	227.142	-	221.685	-7.7	-2.4	-
New and used motor vehicles(4)	-	-	97.548	-1.3	-	-
New vehicles(1)	-	-	196.819	1.3	-	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	318.029	-	312.760	-3.3	-1.7	-
Motor fuel	287.649	277.141	287.264	-25.3	-0.1	3.7
Gasoline (all types)	293.277	282.383	292.956	-25.4	-0.1	3.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	315.445	302.757	315.504	-26.0	0.0	4.2
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	246.930	233.948	241.537	-22.0	-2.2	3.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	278.048	272.040	277.016	-23.3	-0.4	1.8
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	576.371	-	576.371	-1.3	0.0	-
Medical care	414.474	-	416.143	2.4	0.4	-
Recreation(6)	95.375	-	97.752	-0.6	2.5	-
Education and communication(6)	140.886	-	139.880	0.0	-0.7	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,682.370	-	1,686.953	2.6	0.3	-
Other goods and services	-	-	418.547	0.0	-	-
Commodity and service group
All items	280.484	-	281.055	0.9	0.2	-
Commodities	195.138	-	195.331	-0.9	0.1	-
Commodities less food & beverages	151.509	-	150.599	-5.0	-0.6	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	179.826	-	180.075	-8.4	0.1	-
Durables	121.876	-	120.119	-0.7	-1.4	-
Services	360.232	-	361.176	1.8	0.3	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	274.468	-	274.986	0.8	0.2	-
All items less shelter	238.623	-	238.818	-0.7	0.1	-
Commodities less food	154.822	-	154.580	-4.7	-0.2	-
Nondurables	231.096	-	232.530	-0.9	0.6	-
Nondurables less food	184.417	-	185.961	-7.5	0.8	-
Services less rent of shelter(3)	332.799	-	332.998	-0.5	0.1	-
Services less medical care services	352.587	-	353.244	1.7	0.2	-
Energy	274.629	268.826	274.040	-14.8	-0.2	1.9
All items less energy	283.463	-	284.092	1.7	0.2	-
All items less food and energy	282.362	-	282.867	1.1	0.2	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a November 1977=100 base. (2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (3) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (6) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
- Data not available NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.