Prices in the Honolulu area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), edged down 0.1 percent for the two months ending in July 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard J. Holden noted that the July decrease was influenced by lower prices for recreation and food. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 1.6 percent.  (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices increased 0.3 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of electricity. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.6 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices declined 0.5 percent for the two months ending in July. (See table 1.) Prices for food away from home decreased 0.6 percent, and prices for food at home declined 0.5 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 2.4 percent. Prices for food away from home increased 3.0 percent since a year ago, and prices for food at home moved up 1.8 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 0.8 percent for the two months ending in July. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for electricity (-1.6 percent). Prices for natural gas service decreased 8.7 percent, but gasoline edged up (0.1 percent) for the same period.

Energy prices increased 0.3 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for electricity (1.7 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service advanced 2.5 percent, but prices for gasoline declined 0.9 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy was unchanged in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for apparel (3.4 percent), other goods and services (1.4 percent), and shelter (0.2 percent) were countered by lower prices for recreation (-3.3 percent) and education and communication (-0.6 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.6 percent. Components contributing to the increase included apparel (11.3 percent), other goods and services (2.9 percent), and shelter (2.4 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decline in recreation (-2.6 percent).

The September 2019 Consumer Price Index for the Honolulu area is scheduled to be released on October 10, 2019.

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 Hawaii area covered in this release consists of Honolulu in the State of Hawaii.

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

Urban Hawaii (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	May 2019	Jun. 2019	Jul. 2019	Jul. 2018	May 2019	Jun. 2019
Expenditure category
All items	282.271	-	281.928	1.6	-0.1	-
All items (1967=100)	777.084	-	776.141	-	-	-
Food and beverages	288.183	-	286.820	2.3	-0.5	-
Food	289.332	-	287.794	2.4	-0.5	-
Food at home	276.911	276.919	275.503	1.8	-0.5	-0.5
Cereals and bakery products	310.699	-	306.873	-2.3	-1.2	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	259.254	-	256.110	1.7	-1.2	-
Dairy and related products	243.049	-	233.274	3.7	-4.0	-
Fruits and vegetables	350.165	-	343.568	2.9	-1.9	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	332.602	-	354.821	7.7	6.7	-
Other food at home	260.244	-	258.082	-0.6	-0.8	-
Food away from home	296.367	-	294.721	3.0	-0.6	-
Food away from home	296.367	-	294.721	3.0	-0.6	-
Alcoholic beverages	266.475	-	268.465	-0.5	0.7	-
Housing	308.294	-	308.675	2.3	0.1	-
Shelter	335.670	336.089	336.375	2.4	0.2	0.1
Rent of primary residence(2)	326.682	325.991	324.765	1.8	-0.6	-0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)	349.319	349.038	349.834	2.7	0.1	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)	349.319	349.038	349.834	2.7	0.1	0.2
Fuels and utilities	375.909	-	372.624	2.1	-0.9	-
Household energy	307.132	307.312	301.405	1.7	-1.9	-1.9
Energy services	302.014	302.228	296.264	1.7	-1.9	-2.0
Electricity	298.397	298.245	293.643	1.7	-1.6	-1.5
Utility (piped) gas service	321.075	329.814	293.243	2.5	-8.7	-11.1
Household furnishings and operations	146.448	-	147.089	0.8	0.4	-
Apparel	111.957	-	115.789	11.3	3.4	-
Transportation	226.915	-	225.351	-1.7	-0.7	-
Private transportation	225.101	-	226.415	-0.1	0.6	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	104.549	-	-	-	-	-
New vehicles(1)	166.627	-	-	-	-	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	239.904	-	246.401	1.0	2.7	-
Motor fuel	269.142	264.783	269.399	-0.9	0.1	1.7
Gasoline (all types)	276.207	271.673	276.433	-0.9	0.1	1.8
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	287.713	283.663	288.932	-1.1	0.4	1.9
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	229.840	231.079	233.276	1.3	1.5	1.0
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	255.842	247.158	250.397	-0.5	-2.1	1.3
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	485.506	-	485.506	-0.9	0.0	-
Medical care	-	-	-	-	-	-
Recreation(3)	131.519	-	127.234	-2.6	-3.3	-
Education and communication(3)	144.034	-	143.234	1.4	-0.6	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,756.471	-	1,781.754	-	1.4	-
Other goods and services	502.855	-	509.694	2.9	1.4	-
Commodity and service group
All items	282.271	-	281.928	1.6	-0.1	-
Commodities	207.099	-	208.100	2.4	0.5	-
Commodities less food & beverages	157.943	-	160.041	2.5	1.3	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	200.143	-	204.906	4.1	2.4	-
Durables	112.114	-	-	-	-	-
Services	347.886	-	346.398	1.3	-0.4	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	274.607	-	274.070	1.6	-0.2	-
All items less shelter	259.055	-	258.163	1.1	-0.3	-
Commodities less food	162.022	-	164.138	2.4	1.3	-
Nondurables	245.704	-	247.331	3.0	0.7	-
Nondurables less food	204.325	-	208.970	3.8	2.3	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	361.695	-	356.631	-0.5	-1.4	-
Services less medical care services	339.974	-	338.385	1.2	-0.5	-
Energy	283.561	281.150	281.286	0.3	-0.8	0.0
All items less energy	283.847	-	283.639	1.7	-0.1	-
All items less food and energy	284.709	-	284.752	1.6	0.0	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1977=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.