Inflation throughout the Riverside metropolitan area climbed nearly 3% over the last year, largely driven by rising food and shelter costs, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The agency’s bimonthly report, which covers northwestern Riverside County as well as the cities of Ontario and San Bernardino, indicated that the metro area’s Consumer Price Index continued its annualized upward trajectory, registering 2.8%.
BLS officials said regional food prices were 1.8% higher than in July 2023, while property rents were up 6.6% compared to a year ago.
However, year-over-year energy costs showed a drop of 3.7%.
Sliding energy sector expenses accounted largely for the overall 0.6% drop in the bimonthly CPI for the area, with gasoline and electricity costs falling 9.4% and 8.5%, respectively, in June and July, according to the government.
During the two-month period, healthcare costs showed a 0.5% decline, and the category titled “household furnishings and operations” was down 0.9%, according to data.
The report showed that, nationally, inflation rose 0.2% in July, and 3.2% from July 2023 to July 2024.
The current rate of inflation reflects the elevated price trajectory impacting most sectors of the economy. Accelerating consumer price hikes have been blamed by the Biden administration on the war in Ukraine and consequent energy supply disruptions, but critics have pointed to what they call the administration’s restrictive domestic energy policies, as well as excessive spending, including the flood of dollars contained in relief packages, as root causes.
The national debt is at $35.12 trillion, after passing $33 trillion 11 months ago, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. Estimated annualized interest rate payments on the country’s debt passed the $1 trillion mark in November, according to Bloomberg News. That same month, Moody’s Investors Service lowered its outlook on the U.S. credit rating from “stable” to “negative.”
The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee started gradually increasing its benchmark, or target, lending rate in spring 2022, though the FOMC suspended hikes beginning last summer, leaving the rate at roughly 5.5% on the belief that the pace of inflation had slowed satisfactorily.
The hikes were an attempt to soak up excess liquidity and slow spending.