Price Inflation Jumps 7.3% In Riverside Metro Area

The current rate of inflation reflects the elevated price trajectory impacting

Price inflation throughout the Riverside metropolitan area jumped 7.3% over the last year and was up more than 1% just in the last two months, fueled by higher energy expenses, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The agency's bimonthly report, which covers northwestern Riverside County, as well as the cities of Ontario and San Bernardino, indicated that food and energy were the main drivers pushing the metro area's Consumer Price Index higher over the last 12 months.

Energy prices jumped 15.3% year over year, with natural gas price spikes that began in December offsetting a months-long gradual softening of prices at the gasoline pump, data showed. Natural gas costs per thermal unit more than doubled in December and January due to higher demand amid polar blasts across the nation's midsection, supply shortages in California generally and commodities speculation, according to analysts.

In the previous 12 months, food costs were up 9.8%, the BLS stated, noting that there were "increases across (all) food-at-home expenditure categories."

In December and January, the metro CPI was up 1.3%, compared to a .6% increase in the two-period ending Nov. 30, 2022.

The index showed that the annual spike in the metro CPI was not only propelled by food and energy, but also residential rents, which rose 8.3%, and healthcare expenses, which increased an average 6.2%.

The BLS report showed pocketbook pressure was up 6.4% nationwide from January 2022 to January 2023.

The current rate of inflation re-