Prices in the Phoenix area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 1.0 percent for the two months ending in June 2019, 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 electricity and shelter. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 2.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices decreased 2.0 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.5 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.4 percent for the two months ending in June. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 0.7 percent, while prices for food away from home were unchanged for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 3.8 percent. Prices for food at home rose 4.2 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home rose 3.2 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 6.8 percent for the two months ending in June. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for electricity (16.6 percent). Prices for gasoline advanced 1.8 percent, but prices for natural gas service declined 0.5 percent for the same period.

Energy prices decreased 2.0 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-1.6 percent). Prices for natural gas service decreased 9.8 percent, and prices paid for electricity decreased 1.5 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.5 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for household furnishings and operations (1.6 percent), new and used motor vehicles (1.5 percent), and medical care (1.0 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for apparel (-3.4 percent) and recreation (-0.7 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 2.5 percent. Components contributing to the increase included household furnishings and operations (5.9 percent) and shelter (4.3 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price declines in apparel (-7.3 percent) and education and communication (-3.8 percent).

The August 2019 Consumer Price Index for the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale area is scheduled to be released on September 12, 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 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale metropolitan area covered in this release consists of Maricopa and Pinal Counties in the State of Arizona.

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

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale (December 2001=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Apr. 2019	May 2019	Jun. 2019	Jun. 2018	Apr. 2019	May 2019
Expenditure category
All items	141.642	-	142.997	2.2	1.0	-
Food and beverages	148.163	-	148.943	3.6	0.5	-
Food	149.404	-	150.035	3.8	0.4	-
Food at home	144.428	145.990	145.469	4.2	0.7	-0.4
Cereals and bakery products	185.525	-	185.948	1.8	0.2	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	184.871	-	180.374	1.9	-2.4	-
Dairy and related products	104.082	-	104.731	-0.2	0.6	-
Fruits and vegetables	128.918	-	129.445	8.6	0.4	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	107.904	-	108.353	5.8	0.4	-
Other food at home	139.714	-	145.358	5.5	4.0	-
Food away from home	157.411	-	157.484	3.2	0.0	-
Alcoholic beverages	137.361	-	139.585	1.3	1.6	-
Housing	145.612	-	147.704	3.9	1.4	-
Shelter	152.181	152.346	152.816	4.3	0.4	0.3
Rent of primary residence	159.117	159.570	160.642	5.3	1.0	0.7
Owners' equiv. rent of residences	150.681	150.733	150.850	4.2	0.1	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence	150.681	150.733	150.850	4.2	0.1	0.1
Fuels and utilities	155.795	-	171.344	-0.4	10.0	-
Household energy	154.099	176.982	176.441	-2.4	14.5	-0.3
Energy services	153.816	176.867	176.379	-2.4	14.7	-0.3
Electricity	164.299	191.659	191.581	-1.5	16.6	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service	100.718	102.704	100.261	-9.8	-0.5	-2.4
Household furnishings and operations	98.651	-	100.267	5.9	1.6	-
Apparel	137.982	-	133.329	-7.3	-3.4	-
Transportation	130.325	-	132.160	0.8	1.4	-
Private transportation	131.916	-	133.774	-0.1	1.4	-
New and used motor vehicles	91.769	-	93.189	-0.4	1.5	-
New vehicles	92.465	-	94.250	-1.4	1.9	-
Used cars and trucks	86.207	-	86.326	3.3	0.1	-
Motor fuel	251.971	269.711	256.452	-1.6	1.8	-4.9
Gasoline (all types)	252.499	270.300	257.011	-1.6	1.8	-4.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular(1)	253.490	271.997	258.060	-1.8	1.8	-5.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(1)	265.061	281.189	269.750	-0.5	1.8	-4.1
Gasoline, unleaded premium(1)	250.931	265.511	255.191	-0.6	1.7	-3.9
Motor vehicle insurance	168.983	-	168.981	-1.1	0.0	-
Medical care	180.649	-	182.392	-	1.0	-
Recreation	116.740	-	115.967	0.8	-0.7	-
Education and communication	115.722	-	116.824	-3.8	1.0	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care	196.757	-	196.757	-5.3	0.0	-
Other goods and services	145.487	-	146.462	2.0	0.7	-
Commodity and service group
All items	141.642	-	142.997	2.2	1.0	-
Commodities	123.580	-	124.370	1.1	0.6	-
Commodities less food & beverages	110.925	-	111.711	-0.4	0.7	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	149.665	-	150.143	-1.1	0.3	-
Durables	78.490	-	79.499	0.6	1.3	-
Services	154.146	-	155.877	2.9	1.1	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	139.359	-	140.691	2.1	1.0	-
All items less shelter	136.086	-	137.813	1.1	1.3	-
Commodities less food	111.923	-	112.768	-0.3	0.8	-
Nondurables	149.177	-	149.810	1.2	0.4	-
Nondurables less food	148.601	-	149.235	-0.9	0.4	-
Services less rent of shelter	155.971	-	159.097	1.1	2.0	-
Services less medical care services	151.020	-	152.779	2.8	1.2	-
Energy	199.782	219.996	213.349	-2.0	6.8	-3.0
All items less energy	138.294	-	138.964	2.6	0.5	-
All items less food and energy	136.544	-	137.218	2.5	0.5	-
Footnotes (1) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
- Data not available NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.