Seattle-Area Inflation Hits 4.5% in June as Energy Prices Jump 20.7%
Updated
Updated · KOMO News · Jul 15
Seattle-Area Inflation Hits 4.5% in June as Energy Prices Jump 20.7%
3 articles · Updated · KOMO News · Jul 15
Summary
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue consumer prices rose 4.5% from a year earlier in June, topping the West's major metros and ranking second nationally behind Philadelphia's 5.4%.
Energy drove much of the increase: overall energy prices climbed 20.7% year over year and gasoline surged 24.7%, while apparel rose 14.7% and fruit and vegetable prices 11.7%.
The metro area's inflation outpaced the national 3.5% rate, the Western region's 3.2% average and New York City's reading by 0.4 percentage point.
Over the two months ending in June, prices rose 1.0% overall and 0.9% excluding food and energy, with food up 1.2% and shelter up 0.6%.
BLS said the Seattle index is published every other month and can be more volatile than the national CPI because it is based on a smaller local sample.