Prices in the West Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.5 percent in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The October increase was influenced by higher prices for gasoline and medical care. (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 2.8 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.8 percent over the year. Food prices rose 2.6 percent. Energy prices rose 2.0 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices edged up 0.2 percent for the month of October. (See table 1.) Prices for food away from home increased 0.3 percent, and prices for food at home inched up 0.2 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 2.6 percent. Prices for food away from home increased 3.9 percent since a year ago, and prices for food at home advanced 1.5 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 4.8 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (7.2 percent). Prices for natural gas service advanced 1.6 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 0.6 percent for the same period.

Energy prices rose 2.0 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (2.1 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service advanced 2.6 percent, and prices for electricity increased 2.1 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.2 percent in October. Higher prices for medical care (1.6 percent), recreation (0.7 percent), and shelter (0.2 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-0.8 percent) and apparel (-0.8 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.8 percent. Components contributing to the increase included medical care (4.9 percent) and shelter (4.6 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decline in apparel (-2.1 percent).

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

Month	2015		2016		2017		2018		2019
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	-0.3	0.7	0.5	2.6	0.5	2.5	0.5	3.1	0.2	2.7
February	0.6	0.9	0.1	2.1	0.6	3.0	0.5	3.1	0.2	2.4
March	0.8	1.1	0.2	1.5	0.3	3.1	0.4	3.2	0.4	2.4
April	0.3	1.0	0.5	1.8	0.3	2.9	0.4	3.2	0.8	2.9
May	0.8	1.2	0.5	1.5	0.2	2.6	0.5	3.5	0.5	2.9
June	0.0	1.1	0.2	1.6	0.0	2.5	0.2	3.6	0.0	2.7
July	0.3	1.3	0.1	1.4	0.1	2.5	0.1	3.6	0.0	2.7
August	-0.1	1.3	0.0	1.5	0.2	2.7	0.2	3.6	0.1	2.6
September	-0.2	1.0	0.3	2.0	0.5	2.9	0.3	3.4	0.3	2.6
October	0.0	1.1	0.3	2.3	0.3	2.9	0.4	3.5	0.5	2.8
November	-0.2	1.5	-0.2	2.3	0.0	3.1	-0.2	3.3
December	-0.1	1.8	0.0	2.5	0.1	3.1	-0.2	3.1

The November 2019 Consumer Price Index for the West Region is scheduled to be released on December 11, 2019.

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 93 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 29 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 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-
	Aug. 2019	Sep. 2019	Oct. 2019	Oct. 2018	Aug. 2019	Sep. 2019
Expenditure category
All Items	271.264	272.102	273.524	2.8	0.8	0.5
All items (December 1977=100)	438.483	439.839	442.137
Food and beverages	265.684	266.908	267.382	2.5	0.6	0.2
Food	265.531	266.870	267.487	2.6	0.7	0.2
Food at home	249.406	250.531	251.030	1.5	0.7	0.2
Cereals and bakery products	265.039	268.127	266.617	3.4	0.6	-0.6
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	257.263	259.437	257.933	1.0	0.3	-0.6
Dairy and related products	232.001	231.028	234.068	2.4	0.9	1.3
Fruits and vegetables	332.753	332.862	336.864	2.6	1.2	1.2
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	171.176	171.955	174.118	0.2	1.7	1.3
Other food at home	212.771	213.654	212.827	0.5	0.0	-0.4
Food away from home	286.485	288.102	288.871	3.9	0.8	0.3
Alcoholic beverages	264.307	264.029	262.665	0.4	-0.6	-0.5
Housing	301.000	301.774	302.144	4.2	0.4	0.1
Shelter	348.257	349.189	349.802	4.6	0.4	0.2
Rent of primary residence(1)	368.205	370.096	371.955	4.9	1.0	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)	364.784	366.097	367.314	4.5	0.7	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	364.792	366.101	367.318	4.5	0.7	0.3
Fuels and utilities	309.466	308.582	310.623	3.1	0.4	0.7
Household energy	261.438	259.801	262.208	2.1	0.3	0.9
Energy services(1)	263.965	262.225	264.312	2.2	0.1	0.8
Electricity(1)	297.286	295.549	297.331	2.1	0.0	0.6
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	200.433	198.516	201.626	2.6	0.6	1.6
Household furnishings and operations	133.167	134.040	132.956	1.5	-0.2	-0.8
Apparel	115.220	120.198	119.233	-2.1	3.5	-0.8
Transportation	219.655	219.408	223.674	0.7	1.8	1.9
Private transportation	215.380	215.030	219.314	0.8	1.8	2.0
New and used motor vehicles(3)	101.234	99.719	99.743	-0.5	-1.5	0.0
New vehicles	147.708	147.517	147.391	0.5	-0.2	-0.1
New cars and trucks(3)(4)	102.566	102.436	102.350	0.5	-0.2	-0.1
New cars(4)	146.207	145.982	145.782	1.2	-0.3	-0.1
Used cars and trucks	138.797	133.329	133.071	1.2	-4.1	-0.2
Motor fuel	263.895	267.730	286.854	1.9	8.7	7.1
Gasoline (all types)	262.925	266.861	286.207	2.1	8.9	7.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	259.833	263.710	283.162	2.1	9.0	7.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	252.338	255.446	272.405	2.5	8.0	6.6
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	257.964	262.003	279.515	2.4	8.4	6.7
Motor vehicle insurance(6)	846.586	847.027	842.158	-1.2	-0.5	-0.6
Medical Care	513.165	512.817	521.163	4.9	1.6	1.6
Medical care commodities	392.902	388.800	411.526	7.1	4.7	5.8
Medical care services	551.076	552.011	555.400	4.4	0.8	0.6
Professional services	359.808	358.709	359.664	1.3	0.0	0.3
Recreation(3)	114.405	114.847	115.627	1.3	1.1	0.7
Education and communication(3)	138.033	138.154	137.928	-0.1	-0.1	-0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)	1,482.731	1,491.739	1,494.313	2.5	0.8	0.2
Other goods and services	450.917	449.522	451.586	2.9	0.1	0.5
Commodity and Service Group
All Items	271.264	272.102	273.524	2.8	0.8	0.5
Commodities	187.223	188.239	190.020	1.6	1.5	0.9
Commodities less food & beverages	148.394	149.280	151.460	1.0	2.1	1.5
Nondurables less food & beverages	194.665	197.192	202.934	1.2	4.2	2.9
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel	250.370	251.095	261.643	2.3	4.5	4.2
Durables	106.852	106.454	105.835	0.7	-1.0	-0.6
Services	349.461	350.092	351.102	3.4	0.5	0.3
Rent of shelter(2)	370.879	371.879	372.536	4.6	0.4	0.2
Transportation services	321.034	320.998	321.753	-0.4	0.2	0.2
Other services	357.889	358.571	360.056	1.3	0.6	0.4
Special aggregate indexes:
All items less medical care	260.212	261.099	262.221	2.6	0.8	0.4
All items less food	272.339	273.100	274.649	2.8	0.8	0.6
All items less shelter	241.063	241.866	243.616	1.7	1.1	0.7
Commodities less food	152.675	153.538	155.642	1.0	1.9	1.4
Nondurables	230.342	232.299	235.675	1.9	2.3	1.5
Nondurables less food	199.853	202.233	207.598	1.1	3.9	2.7
Nondurables less food and apparel	251.390	252.020	261.427	2.1	4.0	3.7
Services less rent of shelter(2)	361.338	361.575	363.142	1.9	0.5	0.4
Services less medical care services	335.364	335.975	336.825	3.3	0.4	0.3
Energy	266.906	268.626	281.399	2.0	5.4	4.8
All items less energy	273.838	274.619	275.227	2.8	0.5	0.2
All items less food and energy	276.089	276.778	277.386	2.8	0.5	0.2
Commodities less food and energy commodities	140.533	141.049	141.127	0.7	0.4	0.1
Energy commodities	268.359	272.235	291.662	1.9	8.7	7.1
Services less energy services	355.764	356.528	357.483	3.5	0.5	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.