Figures Show Gas Fueling Rise In I.E. Consumer Prices

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — The federal government's new stand-alone measure of inflationary pressures in the Inland Empire revealed that gasoline was the largest contributor to higher consumer prices at the start of the year, according to figures released Wednesday.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly Consumer Price Index indicated an overall .9 percent increase in the Riverside-San Bernardino- Ontario "core-based statistical area," and according to the BLS, of all categories factored into the local CPI, petrol accounted for the biggest influence, jumping 4.7 percent in January as motorists paid more at the pump.

The Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario statistical area's debut came with Wednesday's national release of CPI data. Federal officials announced in December that a 20-year revision to CPI documentation would include splitting the Inland Empire away from the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

The Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario base index of 100 only goes back to December 2017. Price changes are measured against that, and data for the IE will be released on a bimonthly schedule, unlike the Los Angeles-Long Beach- Anaheim area, which will be included in the BLS' monthly releases.

According to figures, electricity costs in the Inland Empire dovetailed with fuel expenses, climbing 4.4 percent. However, the month-to- month increase in housing costs regionally was a relatively nominal .1 percent, while the broadest measure of rents actually declined .28 percent.

The cost of healthcare crept up .93 percent, with food prices rising .7 percent, and the cost of "tuition, school fees and childcare" going up 1.7 percent, the BLS stated.

Nationally, the seasonally adjusted CPI edged up .5 percent in January, and the index was up 2.1 percent over the past 12 months, according to the government.

— By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock