Consumer Price Index, West Region — July 2024

Prices in the West Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), edged down 0.1 percent in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The July decrease was influenced by lower prices for energy. (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 2.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices rose 2.5 percent. Energy prices fell 2.8 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.0 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.1 percent for the month of July. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home were unchanged. Overall, prices in four of the six grocery categories fell. Prices for food away from home advanced 0.2 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 2.5 percent. Prices for food at home rose 1.0 percent since a year ago, led by higher prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (2.6 percent). Prices for food away from home advanced 4.9 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 2.5 percent over the month. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-2.3 percent). Prices for natural gas service fell 4.5 percent, and prices for electricity declined 2.3 percent for the same period.

Energy prices fell 2.8 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-7.2 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service fell 3.0 percent during the past year, while prices for electricity rose 4.6 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy was unchanged in July. Higher prices for medical care (0.4 percent) and shelter (0.3 percent) were offset by lower prices for apparel (-1.7 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-0.6 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 3.0 percent. Components contributing to the increase included medical care (5.8 percent) and shelter (4.3 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in new and used motor vehicles (-4.3 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-2.1 percent).

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

Month	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.3	2.9	0.2	1.4	0.9	7.7	0.9	6.3	0.7	3.3
February	0.4	3.1	0.5	1.6	0.8	8.1	0.5	6.0	0.4	3.2
March	-0.2	2.5	0.7	2.4	1.3	8.7	0.5	5.1	0.9	3.6
April	-0.4	1.3	1.0	3.9	0.7	8.3	0.5	4.9	0.6	3.7
May	0.1	0.8	0.8	4.7	0.8	8.3	0.4	4.5	0.1	3.3
June	0.4	1.2	0.9	5.1	1.2	8.8	0.3	3.5	-0.2	2.8
July	0.5	1.7	0.6	5.2	0.1	8.3	0.1	3.5	-0.1	2.6
August	0.3	1.9	0.2	5.0	0.0	8.1	0.4	3.9
September	0.0	1.6	0.2	5.3	0.3	8.3	0.4	3.9
October	0.2	1.2	0.8	6.0	0.7	8.1	0.1	3.3
November	0.0	1.4	0.5	6.5	-0.4	7.1	-0.4	3.3
December	-0.1	1.5	0.4	7.1	-0.4	6.2	-0.1	3.6

The August 2024 Consumer Price Index for the West Region is scheduled to be released on September 11, 2024.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index for the West Region is published monthly. 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 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, 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 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; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

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-
Historical data	May 2024	Jun. 2024	Jul. 2024	Jul. 2023	May 2024	Jun. 2024
Expenditure category
All Items		334.292	333.662	333.174	2.6	-0.3	-0.1
All items (December 1977=100)		540.365	539.346	538.558	-	-	-
Food and beverages		341.331	341.948	342.109	2.5	0.2	0.0
Food		343.696	344.320	344.560	2.5	0.3	0.1
Food at home		321.106	320.676	320.604	1.0	-0.2	0.0
Cereals and bakery products		335.515	333.867	333.374	-0.1	-0.6	-0.1
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		348.228	348.945	349.628	2.6	0.4	0.2
Dairy and related products		284.631	284.165	283.481	0.7	-0.4	-0.2
Fruits and vegetables		406.886	400.111	399.269	0.1	-1.9	-0.2
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		223.598	223.986	223.390	0.0	-0.1	-0.3
Other food at home		277.123	279.187	279.686	1.4	0.9	0.2
Food away from home		375.619	377.964	378.716	4.9	0.8	0.2
Alcoholic beverages		305.108	305.628	304.572	2.4	-0.2	-0.3
Housing		374.002	373.583	373.742	3.5	-0.1	0.0
Shelter		430.072	429.865	431.089	4.3	0.2	0.3
Rent of primary residence(1)		456.512	456.998	459.088	4.3	0.6	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)		451.211	451.562	453.221	4.3	0.4	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)		450.989	451.333	452.990	4.3	0.4	0.4
Fuels and utilities		429.018	427.383	420.812	3.6	-1.9	-1.5
Household energy		378.549	376.274	366.218	2.8	-3.3	-2.7
Energy services(1)		382.253	379.943	369.478	3.0	-3.3	-2.8
Electricity(1)		427.593	421.973	412.405	4.6	-3.6	-2.3
Utility (piped) gas service(1)		295.428	301.603	287.908	-3.0	-2.5	-4.5
Household furnishings and operations		158.247	157.596	156.646	-2.1	-1.0	-0.6
Apparel		125.766	126.699	124.486	-0.6	-1.0	-1.7
Transportation		288.932	284.482	281.529	0.5	-2.6	-1.0
Private transportation		285.990	282.659	280.529	0.6	-1.9	-0.8
New and used motor vehicles(3)		123.652	123.370	123.294	-4.3	-0.3	-0.1
New vehicles		175.466	175.470	175.298	-1.5	-0.1	-0.1
New cars and trucks(3)(4)		-	-	-	-	-	-
New cars(4)		173.596	173.291	173.095	-2.2	-0.3	-0.1
Used cars and trucks		173.701	173.893	171.475	-11.4	-1.3	-1.4
Motor fuel		372.481	350.324	342.312	-7.2	-8.1	-2.3
Gasoline (all types)		371.875	349.287	341.171	-7.2	-8.3	-2.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		367.756	344.810	336.688	-7.5	-8.4	-2.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		355.141	334.779	327.111	-6.7	-7.9	-2.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		365.070	345.038	337.418	-6.1	-7.6	-2.2
Medical Care		607.285	609.095	611.794	5.8	0.7	0.4
Medical care commodities		474.853	476.071	479.551	4.7	1.0	0.7
Medical care services		648.180	650.175	652.617	6.0	0.7	0.4
Professional services		422.268	424.767	426.774	5.9	1.1	0.5
Recreation(3)		131.285	131.248	131.227	0.2	0.0	0.0
Education and communication(3)		144.024	143.827	143.742	0.6	-0.2	-0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)		1,671.739	1,675.543	1,672.482	2.2	0.0	-0.2
Other goods and services		545.289	554.723	554.326	3.8	1.7	-0.1
Commodity and Service Group
All Items		334.292	333.662	333.174	2.6	-0.3	-0.1
Commodities		229.025	227.716	226.547	-1.2	-1.1	-0.5
Commodities less food & beverages		176.128	174.207	172.630	-3.4	-2.0	-0.9
Nondurables less food & beverages		237.767	233.627	230.925	-2.2	-2.9	-1.2
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel		316.269	308.662	305.596	-2.6	-3.4	-1.0
Durables		123.104	122.672	121.907	-4.6	-1.0	-0.6
Services		432.318	432.389	432.604	4.8	0.1	0.0
Rent of shelter(2)		458.622	458.400	459.735	4.3	0.2	0.3
Transportation services		427.430	426.172	422.480	10.9	-1.2	-0.9
Other services		413.198	414.914	416.073	2.7	0.7	0.3
Special aggregate indexes:
All items less medical care		321.705	320.974	320.354	2.3	-0.4	-0.2
All items less food		332.925	332.105	331.508	2.6	-0.4	-0.2
All items less shelter		296.538	295.719	294.494	1.5	-0.7	-0.4
Commodities less food		180.897	179.008	177.424	-3.2	-1.9	-0.9
Nondurables		289.550	287.650	286.295	0.3	-1.1	-0.5
Nondurables less food		243.076	239.151	236.517	-1.9	-2.7	-1.1
Nondurables less food and apparel		314.782	307.879	304.990	-2.2	-3.1	-0.9
Services less rent of shelter(2)		447.594	448.076	446.783	5.5	-0.2	-0.3
Services less medical care services		417.098	417.045	417.114	4.6	0.0	0.0
Energy		382.721	368.735	359.673	-2.8	-6.0	-2.5
All items less energy		333.942	334.128	334.164	2.9	0.1	0.0
All items less food and energy		333.150	333.265	333.268	3.0	0.0	0.0
Commodities less food and energy commodities		160.601	160.602	159.623	-2.5	-0.6	-0.6
Energy commodities		378.803	356.599	348.643	-7.2	-8.0	-2.2
Services less energy services		437.004	437.197	437.954	4.8	0.2	0.2
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.

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