CONSUMER PRICE INDEX FOR DENVER-BOULDER-GREELEY

Prices decreased 0.6 percent from the first half of 2008 to the first half of 2009

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the Denver-Boulder-Greeley, Colo., metropolitan area decreased 0.6 percent from the first half of 2008 to the first half of 2009, with most of the decrease occurring in the latter half of the period, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. According to Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman, over one-half of the movement in the overall index was attributable to declining costs for transportation.

Among the eight major expenditure categories, the transportation index had the largest impact on the overall index. Transportation prices declined 10.2 percent from the first half of 2008 to the first half of 2009 due almost entirely to lower motor fuel costs. Prices for motor fuel fell a record-setting 39.3 percent over the period.

The Denver metropolitan area recorded higher prices in five of the remaining seven major expenditure categories, partially offsetting the downward movement of the transportation component. The index for food and beverages had the second largest effect on the all items index and accounted for approximately 12 percent of the overall movement. Costs for food and beverages rose 2.4 percent from the first half of 2008 to the first half of 2009. Prices for food away from home rose 3.5 percent, costs for food at home increased 1.4 percent, and prices for alcoholic beverages were 2.6 percent higher. Recreation prices, which include admissions to movies, concerts, and sporting events, advanced 4.8 percent. The index for education and communication rose 3.6 percent and medical care costs were 3.7 percent higher. Prices for other goods and services, which include tobacco and smoking products and personal care items, increased 3.1 percent since the first half of 2008.

The apparel index was the only major expenditure category other than transportation to record a decline over the year, but had little impact on the overall index. Apparel prices were down 1.8 percent over the period following a 4.3-percent increase in the same period one year ago. The housing index was unchanged from the first half of 2008 to the first half of 2009, as higher shelter costs were offset by decreases in the fuels and utilities index and the household furnishings and operations index.

Energy prices, which include prices for motor fuel and household fuels, declined 30.1 percent over the year, the largest over-the-year decrease since publication began in 1978. The special aggregate indexes for all items less energy and all items less food and energy rose 2.2 percent each from the first half of 2008 to the first half of 2009.

The Denver CPI-U stood at 207.444 for the first half of 2009. This means that a market basket of goods and services that cost $100.00 during the 1982-84 base period cost $207.44 during the first half of 2009. Because metropolitan area CPI data are not adjusted for seasonal price variation, consumers and businesses should be cautious in drawing conclusions about long-term retail price trends from short-term changes in the area indexes.

The Denver-Boulder-Greeley, Colo., Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, Jefferson, and Weld Counties in Colorado.

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Last Modified Date: August 14, 2009