Prices in the Portland Area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 1.0 percent in the second half of 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden noted that this latest six-month increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter and medical care. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, six-month-to-six-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 1.1 percent.  (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices fell 14.0 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.6 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices were unchanged in the second half of 2015. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home fell 0.4 percent, yet prices for food away from home increased 0.5 percent.

Over the year, food prices rose 0.7 percent. Prices for food away from home increased 2.1 percent, while prices for food at home were unchanged from a year ago.

Energy

The energy index declined 1.5 percent since the first half of 2015. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-2.2 percent). Prices for natural gas service fell 2.5 percent, while prices for electricity inched up 0.1 percent.

Energy prices fell 14.0 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-24.2 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service decreased 1.7 percent, but prices for electricity increased 0.9 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.4 percent in the latest six-month period. Higher prices for shelter (3.6 percent) and medical care (2.1 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for education and communication (-1.6 percent) and recreation (-1.4 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.6 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (6.0 percent) and medical care (5.2 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price declines in education and communication (-3.0 percent), household furnishings and operations (-1.5 percent), and recreation (-1.0 percent).

Table A. Portland CPI-U semi-annual and annual percent changes (not seasonally adjusted)

Month	2010		2011		2012		2013		2014		2015
	Semi-annual	Annual	Semi-annual	Annual	Semi-annual	Annual	Semi-annual	Annual	Semi-annual	Annual	Semi-annual	Annual
First Half	0.1	1.6	1.8	2.6	1.2	2.5	1.3	2.2	1.0	2.6	0.1	1.3
Second Half	0.8	0.9	1.3	3.1	0.9	2.1	1.5	2.8	1.2	2.3	1.0	1.1

The First Half of 2016 Consumer Price Index for the Portland-Salem, OR is scheduled to be released on July 15, 2016.

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/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 Portland-Salem, OR, WA metropolitan area covered in this release consists of Clackamas, Columbia, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Washington, and Yamhill Counties in the State of Oregon and Clark County 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 for semiannual averages and percent changes for selected periods

Portland-Salem, OR-WA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Semiannual average indexes			Percent change to 2nd half 2015 from-
	2nd half 2014	1st half 2015	2nd half 2015	2nd half 2014	1st half 2015
Expenditure category
All items	242.679	242.976	245.405	1.1	1.0
All items (1967=100)	710.462	711.334	718.442	-	-
Food and beverages	231.522	232.798	232.739	0.5	0.0
Food	233.825	235.511	235.428	0.7	0.0
Food at home	219.350	220.348	219.360	0.0	-0.4
Food away from home	256.078	259.985	261.379	2.1	0.5
Alcoholic beverages	209.062	205.775	205.985	-1.5	0.1
Housing	236.783	241.505	248.253	4.8	2.8
Shelter	276.248	282.733	292.802	6.0	3.6
Rent of primary residence	275.558	282.054	292.109	6.0	3.6
Owners' equiv. rent of residences (1)	287.642	294.635	305.104	6.1	3.6
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence (1)	287.642	294.635	305.104	6.1	3.6
Fuels and utilities	259.356	261.482	262.123	1.1	0.2
Household energy	208.499	209.669	208.248	-0.1	-0.7
Energy services	255.710	257.691	256.444	0.3	-0.5
Electricity	298.193	300.443	300.854	0.9	0.1
Utility (piped) gas service	167.798	169.206	165.000	-1.7	-2.5
Household furnishings and operations	105.624	105.230	103.998	-1.5	-1.2
Apparel	125.834	127.149	126.788	0.8	-0.3
Transportation	237.213	220.578	217.482	-8.3	-1.4
Private transportation	241.753	223.573	220.921	-8.6	-1.2
Motor fuel	305.276	236.809	231.202	-24.3	-2.4
Gasoline (all types)	307.919	238.707	233.415	-24.2	-2.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular (2)	306.226	236.265	230.443	-24.7	-2.5
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (2) (3)	259.803	203.349	199.685	-23.1	-1.8
Gasoline, unleaded premium (2)	282.174	222.462	219.688	-22.1	-1.2
Medical care	513.925	529.893	540.855	5.2	2.1
Recreation (4)	109.679	110.166	108.598	-1.0	-1.4
Education and communication (4)	116.664	114.984	113.115	-3.0	-1.6
Other goods and services	472.044	470.858	469.041	-0.6	-0.4
Commodity and service group
All Items	242.679	242.976	245.405	1.1	1.0
Commodities	182.562	178.573	177.714	-2.7	-0.5
Commodities less food & beverages	158.647	152.218	150.988	-4.8	-0.8
Nondurables less food & beverages	199.795	189.034	188.622	-5.6	-0.2
Durables	115.187	113.046	111.079	-3.6	-1.7
Services	303.328	307.892	313.596	3.4	1.9
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	230.520	230.190	232.264	0.8	0.9
All items less shelter	230.794	228.285	227.369	-1.5	-0.4
Commodities less food	160.378	154.070	152.895	-4.7	-0.8
Nondurables	214.540	209.650	209.410	-2.4	-0.1
Nondurables less food	199.385	189.217	188.852	-5.3	-0.2
Services less rent of shelter (1)	344.944	346.259	345.369	0.1	-0.3
Services less medical care services	287.979	292.427	297.989	3.5	1.9
Energy	254.520	222.367	218.945	-14.0	-1.5
All items less energy	245.176	247.944	250.870	2.3	1.2
All items less food and energy	249.113	252.108	255.632	2.6	1.4
Footnotes (1) Index is on a December 1982=100 base. (2) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (3) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (4) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
- Data not available.