Regional consumer prices rise 1.5% on energy, housing costs

CONSUMER PRICES IN the Northeast rose 1.5 percent year over year in March, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic's Consumer Price Index. That increase included a 2.2 percent rise in the energy index and a 2.8 percent rise in housing costs.
CONSUMER PRICES IN the Northeast rose 1.5 percent year over year in March, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic's Consumer Price Index. That increase included a 2.2 percent rise in the energy index and a 2.8 percent rise in housing costs.

BOSTON – The Consumer Price Index in the Northeast rose 1.5 percent on a non-seasonally adjusted basis during the 12 months ended in March, matching the increase in the national index during the same time period, according to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The monthly Consumer Price Index for all items includes housing, energy, transportation and medical care costs, as well as educational and recreational expenses and the more volatile food and energy prices.

In the Northeast region – which includes the six New England states as well as New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania – the energy index rose 2.2 percent on a year-over-year basis in March, while the national energy index rose four-tenths of a percent.

The housing index in the Northeast – which includes rent or the homeowner equivalent, fuels and utilities, and household furnishings and operations – posted a 2.8 percent year-over-year increase in March, equal to the national increase, which was also 2.8 percent last month.

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Transportation costs fell eight-tenths of a percent regionally and 1.2 percent nationally. The transportation index includes private transportation costs, motor fuel and gasoline. Medical care costs rose 1.3 percent in the Northeast and 2.2 percent in the U.S. as a whole for the month of March.

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