Prices in the Anchorage area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), decreased 1.2 percent for the two months ending in October 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the October decrease was influenced by lower prices for shelter and used cars and trucks. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U decreased 0.3 percent. The index for all items less food and energy decreased 0.4 percent over the year. Energy prices decreased 3.7 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. Food prices rose 3.2 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices edged up 0.2 percent for the two months ending in October. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 0.4 percent, while prices for food away from home were unchanged for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 3.2 percent. Prices for food away from home increased 5.0 percent, and prices for food at home advanced 1.7 percent since a year ago.

Energy

The energy index rose 1.8 percent for the two months ending in October. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (2.6 percent). Prices for electricity advanced 1.9 percent, while prices for natural gas service were virtually unchanged for the same period.

Energy prices decreased 3.7 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-8.2 percent). Prices for electricity decreased 0.8 percent, but prices paid for natural gas service advanced 5.3 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy declined 1.8 percent in the latest two-month period. Lower prices for used cars and trucks (-4.3 percent) and shelter (-4.0 percent) were partially offset by higher prices for recreation (2.5 percent), apparel (0.4 percent), and medical care (0.3 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy declined 0.4 percent. Components contributing to the decrease included apparel (-7.1 percent), education and communication (-1.2 percent), and shelter (-0.6 percent). Partly offsetting the decreases were price advances in medical care (4.4 percent) and other goods and services (3.4 percent).

The December 2019 Consumer Price Index for the Anchorage area is scheduled to be released on January 14, 2020.

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 Urban Alaska area covered in this release consists of Anchorage and Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the State of Alaska.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods

Urban Alaska (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	230.406	-	227.552	-0.3	-1.2	-
All items (1967=100)	614.985	-	607.367	-	-	-
Food and beverages	216.210	-	216.673	3.0	0.2	-
Food	221.923	-	222.343	3.2	0.2	-
Food at home	213.707	213.744	214.477	1.7	0.4	0.3
Cereals and bakery products	218.575	-	227.795	3.1	4.2	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	197.438	-	196.159	1.4	-0.6	-
Dairy and related products	206.577	-	210.809	4.2	2.0	-
Fruits and vegetables	338.855	-	338.397	6.4	-0.1	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	150.428	-	149.170	2.6	-0.8	-
Other food at home	175.883	-	175.072	-3.9	-0.5	-
Food away from home	232.512	-	232.445	5.0	0.0	-
Alcoholic beverages	158.759	-	159.562	1.7	0.5	-
Housing	212.472	-	205.984	-0.2	-3.1	-
Shelter	213.044	205.995	204.584	-0.6	-4.0	-0.7
Rent of primary residence(2)	200.744	200.108	199.771	-1.2	-0.5	-0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)	205.856	206.492	205.927	0.3	0.0	-0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)	205.856	206.492	205.927	0.3	0.0	-0.3
Fuels and utilities	357.184	-	360.437	2.5	0.9	-
Household energy	375.169	375.169	379.384	1.5	1.1	1.1
Energy services	418.271	418.271	422.871	1.5	1.1	1.1
Electricity	366.844	366.844	373.728	-0.8	1.9	1.9
Utility (piped) gas service	483.599	483.599	483.350	5.3	-0.1	-0.1
Household furnishings and operations	128.363	-	128.620	-0.8	0.2	-
Apparel	155.197	-	155.878	-7.1	0.4	-
Transportation	227.990	-	225.017	-3.7	-1.3	-
Private transportation	238.482	-	235.303	-2.6	-1.3	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	-	-	-	-	-	-
New vehicles(1)	-	-	-	-	-	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	271.005	-	259.331	1.0	-4.3	-
Motor fuel	240.413	232.097	246.542	-8.3	2.5	6.2
Gasoline (all types)	241.182	232.913	247.496	-8.2	2.6	6.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	232.048	223.855	238.220	-8.6	2.7	6.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	233.172	225.442	238.323	-7.6	2.2	5.7
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	248.004	240.904	254.099	-6.3	2.5	5.5
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	1,007.596	-	926.761	-8.0	-8.0	-
Medical care	623.192	-	625.275	4.4	0.3	-
Recreation(3)	126.733	-	129.878	0.7	2.5	-
Education and communication(3)	114.889	-	115.361	-1.2	0.4	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	729.669	-	748.486	3.0	2.6	-
Other goods and services	362.222	-	361.859	3.4	-0.1	-
Commodity and service group
All items	230.406	-	227.552	-0.3	-1.2	-
Commodities	184.902	-	184.448	-0.3	-0.2	-
Commodities less food & beverages	168.457	-	167.630	-1.9	-0.5	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	213.585	-	215.767	-3.5	1.0	-
Durables	129.492	-	-	-	-	-
Services	269.628	-	264.640	-0.3	-1.8	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	216.693	-	213.741	-0.6	-1.4	-
All items less shelter	236.964	-	237.128	-0.1	0.1	-
Commodities less food	168.425	-	167.666	-1.8	-0.5	-
Nondurables	215.423	-	216.706	-0.2	0.6	-
Nondurables less food	209.794	-	211.850	-3.1	1.0	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	361.924	-	363.629	0.1	0.5	-
Services less medical care services	248.962	-	243.765	-0.8	-2.1	-
Energy	297.329	292.160	302.799	-3.7	1.8	3.6
All items less energy	226.877	-	223.475	0.0	-1.5	-
All items less food and energy	228.059	-	224.052	-0.4	-1.8	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1978=100 base. (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.
- Data not available NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.