Consumer inflation continues its gradual decline in the Denver metro area, but not falling as fast as elsewhere in the country, according to a bimonthly update from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The CPI for all urban consumers for the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area rose 1.3% between January and March and is moving at an annual rate of 5.7%, below the 6.4% annual rate recorded in January. lies. Nationally, consumer inflation rose at an annual rate of 5% in March, down from 6% in February.
Annual gains of 10% in both rents and food prices helped keep inflation high in the region. Metro Denver was also hit by a 12.3% rise in gasoline prices between January and March, resulting from the closure of Suncor’s Commerce City refinery to repair equipment damaged by cold temperatures late last year.
Gasoline prices were down about 2% in the Denver metro area compared to March 2022, but down 17.3% statewide.
Michael Hirniak, the BLS assistant commissioner for regional operations who oversees Metro Denver’s CPI report, noted in the report that core inflation, which is all items excluding food and energy, was up in February and March is up 1.0%, mainly due to an increase in the homeowner-equivalent rent index, a proxy for home ownership costs. The energy index rose 6.4%, while the food index rose 1.3% over the past two months.
When it comes to groceries, non-alcoholic beverages achieved the largest annual increases with a plus of 16%; fruit and vegetables by 14.1%; and dairy and related products by 12.5%. Restaurant costs have increased by 9.5% over the past year, while alcoholic beverages have increased by 5.7%.
Deflation has set in for used car prices, which have fallen by 11.3% over the year. While the sharp drop in car values is good for buyers, it could hurt those who bought used cars at inflated prices and the financial institutions that lent to those buyers.
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