Prices in the West Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.5 percent in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The July increase was influenced by higher prices for gasoline and shelter. (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 1.7 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.0 percent over the year. Food prices rose 4.8 percent. Energy prices decreased 9.2 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices inched down 0.1 percent for the month of July. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home declined 0.8 percent, but prices for food away from home rose 0.7 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 4.8 percent. Prices for food away from home advanced 5.0 percent since a year ago, and prices for food at home increased 4.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index advanced 2.7 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (4.6 percent). Prices for electricity rose 1.1 percent, but prices for natural gas service decreased 1.1 percent for the same period.

Energy prices decreased 9.2 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-17.0 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service increased 4.3 percent, and prices for electricity increased 1.3 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.5 percent in July. Higher prices for new and used motor vehicles (1.7 percent), education and communication (1.2 percent), and shelter (0.3 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for alcoholic beverages (-1.0 percent), recreation (-0.9 percent), and household furnishings and operations (-0.3 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.0 percent. Components contributing to the increase included medical care (6.7 percent), household furnishings and operations (3.1 percent), and shelter (2.7 percent.). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in apparel (-4.7 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (-1.1 percent).

Table A. West region CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2016		2017		2018		2019		2020
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.5	2.6	0.5	2.5	0.5	3.1	0.2	2.7	0.3	2.9
February	0.1	2.1	0.6	3.0	0.5	3.1	0.2	2.4	0.4	3.1
March	0.2	1.5	0.3	3.1	0.4	3.2	0.4	2.4	-0.2	2.5
April	0.5	1.8	0.3	2.9	0.4	3.2	0.8	2.9	-0.4	1.3
May	0.5	1.5	0.2	2.6	0.5	3.5	0.5	2.9	0.1	0.8
June	0.2	1.6	0.0	2.5	0.2	3.6	0.0	2.7	0.4	1.2
July	0.1	1.4	0.1	2.5	0.1	3.6	0.0	2.7	0.5	1.7
August	0.0	1.5	0.2	2.7	0.2	3.6	0.1	2.6
September	0.3	2.0	0.5	2.9	0.3	3.4	0.3	2.6
October	0.3	2.3	0.3	2.9	0.4	3.5	0.5	2.8
November	-0.2	2.3	0.0	3.1	-0.2	3.3	-0.1	2.8
December	0.0	2.5	0.1	3.1	-0.2	3.1	-0.2	2.8

The August 2020 Consumer Price Index for the West Region is scheduled to be released on September 11, 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 93 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 29 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 West Region covered in this release is comprised of the following thirteen states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

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

West (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	273.062	274.155	275.597	1.7	0.9	0.5
All items (December 1977=100)	441.390	443.156	445.488
Food and beverages	276.925	278.677	278.110	4.6	0.4	-0.2
Food	277.148	278.995	278.597	4.8	0.5	-0.1
Food at home	262.813	264.126	261.964	4.6	-0.3	-0.8
Cereals and bakery products	272.076	269.376	267.275	0.0	-1.8	-0.8
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	280.200	289.818	280.540	8.9	0.1	-3.2
Dairy and related products	243.306	242.486	243.167	5.9	-0.1	0.3
Fruits and vegetables	341.515	345.015	345.610	3.0	1.2	0.2
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	188.511	186.193	184.062	6.3	-2.4	-1.1
Other food at home	221.161	220.080	220.641	3.3	-0.2	0.3
Food away from home	295.501	298.074	300.104	5.0	1.6	0.7
Alcoholic beverages	270.519	271.064	268.402	1.4	-0.8	-1.0
Housing	307.387	307.520	308.454	2.8	0.3	0.3
Shelter	354.997	355.083	356.272	2.7	0.4	0.3
Rent of primary residence(1)	379.044	379.296	379.785	3.4	0.2	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)	373.203	373.384	373.920	2.9	0.2	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	373.207	373.389	373.926	2.9	0.2	0.1
Fuels and utilities	316.367	315.578	317.905	2.4	0.5	0.7
Household energy	267.642	266.415	268.110	1.8	0.2	0.6
Energy services(1)	270.223	269.039	270.792	1.9	0.2	0.7
Electricity(1)	301.886	299.699	303.123	1.3	0.4	1.1
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	211.584	212.874	210.489	4.3	-0.5	-1.1
Household furnishings and operations	137.629	138.230	137.821	3.1	0.1	-0.3
Apparel	109.115	109.226	109.244	-4.7	0.1	0.0
Transportation	200.154	204.029	209.147	-5.6	4.5	2.5
Private transportation	196.948	200.980	206.739	-4.8	5.0	2.9
New and used motor vehicles(3)	99.034	98.678	100.337	-1.1	1.3	1.7
New vehicles	149.301	148.806	149.904	1.3	0.4	0.7
New cars and trucks(3)(4)	103.681	103.332	104.112	1.3	0.4	0.8
New cars(4)	147.708	147.456	148.599	1.7	0.6	0.8
Used cars and trucks	132.932	131.430	135.518	-1.5	1.9	3.1
Motor fuel	199.168	215.803	225.536	-17.0	13.2	4.5
Gasoline (all types)	197.908	214.925	224.837	-17.0	13.6	4.6
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	194.064	211.355	221.156	-17.4	14.0	4.6
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	194.281	208.762	218.152	-15.8	12.3	4.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	201.306	215.932	225.608	-15.0	12.1	4.5
Motor vehicle insurance(6)	721.405	765.701	832.394	-1.7	15.4	8.7
Medical Care	538.722	540.943	544.125	6.7	1.0	0.6
Medical care commodities	429.435	428.922	428.925	10.5	-0.1	0.0
Medical care services	572.427	575.507	579.688	5.7	1.3	0.7
Professional services	365.655	366.273	369.491	2.7	1.0	0.9
Recreation(3)	116.986	116.512	115.497	1.0	-1.3	-0.9
Education and communication(3)	138.681	138.505	140.134	1.8	1.0	1.2
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)	1,498.314	1,500.891	1,503.445	1.9	0.3	0.2
Other goods and services	459.898	461.650	461.650	3.0	0.4	0.0
Commodity and Service Group
All Items	273.062	274.155	275.597	1.7	0.9	0.5
Commodities	186.192	187.662	188.740	0.6	1.4	0.6
Commodities less food & beverages	142.776	144.067	145.715	-2.2	2.1	1.1
Nondurables less food & beverages	180.727	184.367	186.745	-4.8	3.3	1.3
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel	231.123	237.198	241.203	-4.8	4.4	1.7
Durables	106.449	106.190	107.242	0.6	0.7	1.0
Services	354.215	354.845	356.613	2.3	0.7	0.5
Rent of shelter(2)	378.107	378.200	379.458	2.8	0.4	0.3
Transportation services	293.348	298.883	306.127	-5.0	4.4	2.4
Other services	366.729	366.325	366.379	2.6	-0.1	0.0
Special aggregate indexes:
All items less medical care	260.995	262.036	263.401	1.3	0.9	0.5
All items less food	272.536	273.505	275.250	1.2	1.0	0.6
All items less shelter	240.923	242.407	243.949	1.1	1.3	0.6
Commodities less food	147.347	148.627	150.168	-2.0	1.9	1.0
Nondurables	228.654	231.393	232.347	0.4	1.6	0.4
Nondurables less food	187.254	190.704	192.758	-4.3	2.9	1.1
Nondurables less food and apparel	234.978	240.460	243.754	-4.1	3.7	1.4
Services less rent of shelter(2)	363.485	364.867	367.480	1.8	1.1	0.7
Services less medical care services	339.011	339.476	341.080	2.0	0.6	0.5
Energy	231.664	240.961	247.429	-9.2	6.8	2.7
All items less energy	278.173	278.718	279.831	2.4	0.6	0.4
All items less food and energy	279.139	279.452	280.839	2.0	0.6	0.5
Commodities less food and energy commodities	141.049	140.799	141.518	1.0	0.3	0.5
Energy commodities	203.477	220.103	229.858	-16.9	13.0	4.4
Services less energy services	360.437	361.172	362.948	2.3	0.7	0.5
Footnotes (1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (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. (6) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.
- Data not available Regions defined as the four Census regions. West includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.