Wed, June 17, 2009
Boston Consumer Prices Continue to Slip
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its report today on changes in New England region prices for May 2009.
Consumer prices for the Boston-Brockton-Nashua statistical area declined by 1.5% versus last May, with the largest declines taking place in energy prices. Gasoline was down almost 40%, and household energy costs slid by 26.6%. Categories where prices increased included medical care (up 5.9%) and food, up 3.2%.
Nationally the CPI slipped 1.3%; on an annualized basis, this is the largest decline in consumer prices since 1950. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy costs, increased modestly, by 0.1%.
The Labor Department also announced that average weekly earnings fell 0.3% on an inflation-adjusted basis last month, suggesting that consumer income did not keep up with prices.
Gas prices have seemed to shoot up in the last few weeks; it will be interesting to see if prices remain firm into the summer travel season. The lack of a clear direction for CPI means that people will continue to argue over the question of whether deflation remains a serious concern.
