Prices in the San Francisco area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.9 percent for the two months ending in June 2018, 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 gasoline. (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 3.9 percent.  (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices jumped 11.6 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.7 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 0.3 percent for the two months ending in June. (See table 1.) Prices for food away from home moved up 0.4 percent, and prices for food at home rose 0.2 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 2.5 percent. Prices for food away from home advanced 3.9 percent since a year ago, and prices for food at home increased 1.0 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 2.9 percent for the two months ending in June. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (4.7 percent). Prices for electricity advanced 2.7 percent, but prices for natural gas service decreased 8.1 percent for the same period.

Energy prices jumped 11.6 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (22.1 percent). Prices paid for electricity advanced 0.3 percent, but prices for natural gas service declined 7.3 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.9 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for other goods and services (3.2 percent), medical care (1.5 percent), and shelter (1.2 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for apparel (-6.1 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-0.5 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.7 percent. Components contributing to the increase included other goods and services (6.0 percent), shelter (4.8 percent), and medical care (3.7 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decline in apparel (-7.8 percent).

Table A. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose CPI-U bi-monthly and annual percent changes (not seasonally adjusted)

Month	2013		2014		2015		2016		2017		2018
	Bi-monthly	Annual	Bi-monthly	Annual	Bi-monthly	Annual	Bi-monthly	Annual	Bi-monthly	Annual	Bi-monthly	Annual
February	1.3	2.4	1.2	2.4	1.0	2.5	0.9	3.0	0.8	3.4	1.4	3.6
April	0.8	2.4	1.2	2.8	1.1	2.4	0.7	2.7	1.1	3.8	0.8	3.2
June	0.5	2.6	0.7	3.0	0.6	2.3	0.6	2.7	0.3	3.5	0.9	3.9
August	0.1	2.0	0.0	3.0	0.3	2.6	0.7	3.1	0.2	3.0
October	0.2	1.6	0.5	3.2	0.4	2.6	0.9	3.6	0.6	2.7
December	-0.4	2.6	-0.9	2.7	-0.3	3.2	-0.3	3.5	-0.1	2.9

The August 2018 Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward area is scheduled to be released on September 13, 2018.

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/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 San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA. metropolitan area covered in this release is comprised of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo Counties in the State of California.

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

San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Apr. 2018	May 2018	Jun. 2018	Jun. 2017	Apr. 2018	May 2018
Expenditure category
All items	283.422	-	286.062	3.9	0.9	-
All items (1967=100)	871.318	-	879.435	-	-	-
Food and beverages	275.824	-	277.635	3.5	0.7	-
Food	274.054	-	274.904	2.5	0.3	-
Food at home	251.268	252.386	251.694	1.0	0.2	-0.3
Cereals and bakery products	259.232	-	260.077	-	0.3	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	251.222	-	246.948	-	-1.7	-
Dairy and related products	263.292	-	267.807	-	1.7	-
Fruits and vegetables	327.194	-	333.370	-	1.9	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	201.298	-	202.207	-	0.5	-
Other food at home	220.387	-	219.599	-	-0.4	-
Food away from home	301.409	-	302.712	3.9	0.4	-
Food away from home	301.409	-	302.712	3.9	0.4	-
Alcoholic beverages	298.802	-	308.746	13.6	3.3	-
Housing	334.450	-	337.975	4.3	1.1	-
Shelter	381.346	382.009	386.091	4.8	1.2	1.1
Rent of primary residence(2)	437.317	438.551	440.273	5.9	0.7	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	409.806	410.596	413.614	3.7	0.9	0.7
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	409.806	410.596	413.614	3.7	0.9	0.7
Fuels and utilities	398.564	-	399.068	0.7	0.1	-
Household energy	351.500	353.970	350.925	-2.0	-0.2	-0.9
Energy services(2)	352.377	354.796	351.606	-2.2	-0.2	-0.9
Electricity(2)	363.126	373.069	373.069	0.3	2.7	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	319.210	304.055	293.509	-7.3	-8.1	-3.5
Household furnishings and operations	139.086	-	138.409	1.6	-0.5	-
Apparel	113.888	-	106.919	-7.8	-6.1	-
Transportation	203.714	-	208.568	7.5	2.4	-
Private transportation	197.556	-	201.553	9.3	2.0	-
New and used motor vehicles(4)	96.712	-	97.703	-	1.0	-
New vehicles(1)	160.814	-	165.081	-	2.7	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	253.391	-	253.039	-	-0.1	-
Motor fuel	264.816	276.100	277.231	22.1	4.7	0.4
Gasoline (all types)	263.890	275.117	276.204	22.1	4.7	0.4
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	264.259	275.630	276.486	22.1	4.6	0.3
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	243.744	254.386	257.711	21.8	5.7	1.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	249.261	259.119	260.934	21.7	4.7	0.7
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	505.695	-	505.695	-	0.0	-
Medical care	504.092	-	511.465	3.7	1.5	-
Recreation(6)	115.162	-	115.635	2.8	0.4	-
Education and communication(6)	142.854	-	143.185	1.0	0.2	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,660.883	-	1,664.953	-	0.2	-
Other goods and services	478.861	-	494.060	6.0	3.2	-
Commodity and service group
All items	283.422	-	286.062	3.9	0.9	-
Commodities	189.611	-	190.438	3.2	0.4	-
Commodities less food & beverages	143.038	-	143.374	3.1	0.2	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	189.042	-	189.141	4.7	0.1	-
Durables	98.746	-	99.282	0.4	0.5	-
Services	361.570	-	365.697	4.2	1.1	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	274.409	-	276.860	3.9	0.9	-
All items less shelter	242.950	-	244.644	3.2	0.7	-
Commodities less food	149.553	-	150.345	3.8	0.5	-
Nondurables	233.707	-	234.667	3.9	0.4	-
Nondurables less food	197.238	-	198.269	5.6	0.5	-
Services less rent of shelter(3)	352.323	-	355.743	3.2	1.0	-
Services less medical care services	352.848	-	356.748	4.2	1.1	-
Energy	301.993	310.846	310.676	11.6	2.9	-0.1
All items less energy	285.968	-	288.352	3.6	0.8	-
All items less food and energy	288.633	-	291.270	3.7	0.9	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 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.