Prices in the Honolulu area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), were unchanged for the two months ending in July 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that higher prices for food away from home were offset by lower prices for food at home during the past two months, holding the overall index level virtually unchanged. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 1.3 percent. Food prices rose 6.9 percent. The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.4 percent over the year. Energy prices fell 13.7 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline and electricity. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices inched up 0.1 percent for the two months ending in July. (See table 1.) Prices for food away from home rose 4.8 percent, but prices for food at home declined 3.6 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 6.9 percent. Prices for food at home increased 8.1 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home advanced 5.5 percent.

Energy

The energy index declined 1.4 percent for the two months ending in July. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for electricity (-7.0 percent). Prices for natural gas service rose 7.1 percent, and prices for gasoline advanced 3.5 percent for the same period.

Energy prices fell 13.7 percent over the year, influenced by lower prices for gasoline (-13.7 percent). Prices paid for electricity fell 14.3 percent, and natural gas service decreased 9.1 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 motor vehicle insurance (9.9 percent), education and communication (2.8 percent), and other goods and services (2.7 percent) helped offset lower prices for apparel (-5.4 percent), recreation (-1.8 percent), and shelter (-0.4 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.4 percent. Components contributing to the increase included recreation (5.9 percent), education and communication (4.2 percent, and shelter (2.3 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in apparel (-9.4 percent) and motor vehicle insurance (-5.5 percent).

The September 2020 Consumer Price Index for the Honolulu area is scheduled to be released on October 13, 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 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 2020	Jun. 2020	Jul. 2020	Jul. 2019	May 2020	Jun. 2020
Expenditure category
All items	285.834	-	285.725	1.3	0.0	-
All items (1967=100)	786.893	-	786.592	-	-	-
Food and beverages	306.278	-	306.660	6.9	0.1	-
Food	307.240	-	307.593	6.9	0.1	-
Food at home	308.880	306.794	297.773	8.1	-3.6	-2.9
Cereals and bakery products	326.771	-	320.643	4.5	-1.9	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	290.741	-	279.965	9.3	-3.7	-
Dairy and related products	243.877	-	246.897	5.8	1.2	-
Fruits and vegetables	374.235	-	376.886	9.7	0.7	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	381.710	-	382.557	7.8	0.2	-
Other food at home	311.212	-	281.084	8.9	-9.7	-
Food away from home	296.709	-	311.014	5.5	4.8	-
Alcoholic beverages	-	-	289.926	8.0	-	-
Housing	315.441	-	313.311	1.5	-0.7	-
Shelter	345.795	345.667	344.245	2.3	-0.4	-0.4
Rent of primary residence(2)	342.414	342.662	341.672	5.2	-0.2	-0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)	354.971	354.780	353.932	1.2	-0.3	-0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)	354.971	354.780	353.932	1.2	-0.3	-0.2
Fuels and utilities	360.440	-	348.911	-6.4	-3.2	-
Household energy	276.682	266.152	259.112	-14.0	-6.4	-2.6
Energy services	271.961	261.485	254.423	-14.1	-6.4	-2.7
Electricity	270.437	259.393	251.536	-14.3	-7.0	-3.0
Utility (piped) gas service	248.965	253.877	266.669	-9.1	7.1	5.0
Household furnishings and operations	150.295	-	149.938	1.9	-0.2	-
Apparel	110.888	-	104.858	-9.4	-5.4	-
Transportation	206.231	-	209.549	-7.0	1.6	-
Private transportation	208.609	-	212.518	-6.1	1.9	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	101.135	-	101.126	-	0.0	-
New vehicles(1)	164.850	-	161.863	-	-1.8	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	238.080	-	242.850	-1.4	2.0	-
Motor fuel	224.777	229.834	232.543	-13.7	3.5	1.2
Gasoline (all types)	230.613	235.817	238.594	-13.7	3.5	1.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	239.049	244.029	246.005	-14.9	2.9	0.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	209.443	212.780	217.286	-6.9	3.7	2.1
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	214.966	221.627	227.496	-9.1	5.8	2.6
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	417.464	-	458.914	-5.5	9.9	-
Medical care	-	-	-	-	-	-
Recreation(3)	137.189	-	134.768	5.9	-1.8	-
Education and communication(3)	145.129	-	149.224	4.2	2.8	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,801.215	-	1,808.765	1.5	0.4	-
Other goods and services	481.607	-	494.762	-2.9	2.7	-
Commodity and service group
All items	285.834	-	285.725	1.3	0.0	-
Commodities	208.769	-	208.476	0.2	-0.1	-
Commodities less food & beverages	150.565	-	149.909	-6.3	-0.4	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	186.303	-	186.114	-9.2	-0.1	-
Durables	110.254	-	109.299	-	-0.9	-
Services	353.080	-	353.126	1.9	0.0	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	278.014	-	277.628	1.3	-0.1	-
All items less shelter	259.234	-	259.892	0.7	0.3	-
Commodities less food	155.469	-	154.856	-5.7	-0.4	-
Nondurables	249.363	-	249.485	0.9	0.0	-
Nondurables less food	192.767	-	192.645	-7.8	-0.1	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	358.523	-	361.300	1.3	0.8	-
Services less medical care services	344.567	-	344.032	1.7	-0.2	-
Energy	246.367	244.456	242.810	-13.7	-1.4	-0.7
All items less energy	290.035	-	290.135	2.3	0.0	-
All items less food and energy	288.574	-	288.624	1.4	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.