The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Dallas-Fort Worth area was little changed in August and September, slipping 0.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that a 7.6-percent decline in gasoline costs was the largest factor in the current dip. In contrast, food prices rose 1.4 percent during the period, while the index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.2 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, short-term changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The all items CPI-U rose 1.1 percent in the Dallas-Fort Worth area during the last 12 months, continuing the series of over-the-year increases of less than 2.0 percent that began in September 2013. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.7 percent during the year ended in September 2014; annual increases for this index have been 2.0 percent or less since March 2013. (See chart 1.)

Local food prices rose 1.4 percent in August and September, after remaining unchanged in June and July. Among the two components of the index, prices for food at home (grocery stores) advanced 2.2 percent, while prices for food away from home were up 0.4 percent. This was the first price movement for the index for food away from home since the two months ended in January 2014.

From September 2013 to September 2014, the food index was up 2.7 percent, reflecting the combined effects of a 3.5-percent price rise at grocery stores and a 1.5-percent price rise for food away from home. Annual increases in total food prices have been 3.0 percent or less since March 2012.

Energy

The energy index fell 3.8 percent in August and September following a 0.6-percent increase in June and July. The decrease was primarily the result of a 7.6-percent decrease in gasoline prices, though lower costs for natural gas, down 0.2 percent, also contributed. These decreases were partially offset by higher electricity costs which rose 1.1 percent during the period.

During the year ended in September 2014, the energy index advanced 1.9 percent. The leading factor in the annual increase was higher household energy costs, as prices for natural gas climbed 15.3 percent and electricity prices increased 6.0 percent. In contrast, motor fuel costs declined 2.1 percent over the year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.2 percent in August and September, after registering a 0.1-percent dip in June and July, and no change in April and May. As in previous periods, differing movements among the sub-components continued to provide little change in the overall index in August and September. A 7.2-percent advance in apparel prices had the greatest impact on the current increase, with the largest advances noted for women’s apparel. Other important contributors included higher prices for education and communication, up 0.6 percent, and other goods and services, up 0.5 percent. Slowing these gains, the cost of household furnishings and operations declined 2.2 percent and medical care prices fell 0.8 percent. The shelter index was little changed during the two-month period, edging up 0.1 percent.

From September 2013 to September 2014, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.7 percent, the slowest annual gain since January 2011 when prices actually slipped 0.1 percent over the year. The biggest factor in the current annual increase was a 3.4-percent advance in shelter costs, though higher prices for medical care (1.9 percent) and other goods and services (1.2 percent) also contributed. Countering a portion of these increases, annual declines were recorded for household furnishings and operations, recreation, and apparel.

The November 2014 Consumer Price Index for All Items for Dallas-Fort Worth will be released on December 17, 2014.

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 88 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 87 urban areas across the country from about 4,000 housing units and approximately 26,000 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/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 Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) includes Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Henderson, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, and Tarrant Counties.

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