See How Prices Rose In DC And Northern Virginia As US Inflation Hits 40-Year High

VIRGINIA/DC — Inflation jumped to the highest level in nearly 40 years, new data released Friday showed, as supply chain disruptions, consumer demand and rising housing costs boosted prices in the Washington, D.C., area and across the nation.

Consumer prices nationwide increased by 6.8 percent in November, the largest 12-month increase since June 1982. While prices increased across the board, prices for gas, food, used and new cars were the major contributors, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In the Washington, D.C., area, including Northern Virginia, the jump in consumers prices was 5.8 percent in November, the largest year-over-year increase for the area since December 1990, but lower than the national increase.

Monthly price increases — the change between October and November, rather than over the past year — did moderate somewhat, but still rose at a rapid pace.

Current inflation has been spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has upset the workforce and supply chains, along with stimulus measures that increased demand for goods.

About half of the month-over-month increase in the consumer price index was due to price increases in cars and energy, The Washington Post reported Friday. The energy index was up 3.5 percent in November. Recent moves by the Biden administration intended to bring prices down at the pump were not reflected in Friday’s data.

The federal data showed that “food at home,” primarily groceries, was up 6.4 percent in the past year, and that “food away from home” climbed 5.8 percent.

As housing and other day-to-day costs rise, workers may begin to seek higher wages to help offset the increase in consumer items and rent. Climbing wages can feed into inflation as companies pass rising labor costs on to consumers, and as bigger paychecks help households to keep spending, sustaining consumer demand, the New York Times noted.

Price increases in the D.C. area were lower than the national average. Food prices increased by 5.6 percent in the area from a year ago, compared to a national increase of 6.1 percent.

In the D.C. area, prices were higher for both food away from home at 5.5 percent and for food at home at 5.7 percent since November 2020. This marked the largest 12-month increase in grocery prices in 10 years.

Within the food at home component, prices were higher for rice, pasta, and cornmeal along with bread, while prices were lower for several categories, including canned fruits and vegetables. Food prices advanced 5.6 percent over the year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing costs in the D.C. area rose by 3.1 percent in November compared to a year ago, while housing costs nationally rose by 4.8 percent compared to November 2020.

Gasoline prices at the pump increased by 52.3 percent in the D.C. area in November, while the national increase was 58.1 percent. The year-over-year gasoline price increase in the D.C. area was the largest since January 2010.

Prices were lower for electricity in the D.C. area, as they usually are in November, down 4.8 percent since September, although this decrease was less than the 10-year average of a 6.7 percent drop.

Some economists are holding out hope that inflation will peak in the coming months and then gradually ease and provide some relief for consumers. They note that supply shortages in some industries have begun to gradually ease. And while higher energy costs will continue to burden consumers in the coming months, Americans will likely be spared from earlier forecasts that energy prices would reach record highs over the winter.