Consumer prices in the Bay Area rose at a moderate pace in December in a hopeful sign that inflation is easing — but the cost of electricity provided by utilities such as PG&E rocketed higher, an official report shows.
The Bay Area inflation rate, as measured by the region’s consumer price index, rose 2.6% in 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday.
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December’s inflation rate was the smallest annual increase for consumer prices in the Bay Area in almost three years, going back to February 2021, when prices rose 1.6% on a yearly basis, the government report showed.
Nationwide, inflation climbed by 3.4% in the United States in December compared with the same month the year before, according to the federal agency’s report.
In the Bay Area, the cost of electricity provided by a utility such as PG&E zoomed higher by 14.1% in December on a yearly basis. That marked the sixth consecutive month of double-digit annual increases in electricity costs in the Bay Area.
The price of natural gas piped into the home in the Bay Area by a utility such as PG&E decreased by 4.4%.
Food prices in the Bay Area, another key cost that the region’s consumers must pay, rose 2% in December compared to the same month the year before. That was a marked improvement from the annual increase of 2.8% for food prices in October.
The cost of food consumed at home in the Bay Area rose at an annual pace of 4.3% in December, which was significantly higher than the 1.9% increase in October.
Unleaded gasoline prices in the Bay Area jumped 4.4% in December. That snapped a string of 12 consecutive months of annual decreases in the region’s gas prices.
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