Gas, rent lead metro area prices up in September
Operating the self-serve pump, Robert Chiavoli gets gas at the Sunoco station in Babylon Village. (July 18, 2012) Credit: Johnny Milano
Prices edged up in the metropolitan area last month with large increases for gasoline and rent.
The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday its consumer price index climbed 1.6 percent in September from a year ago in the 31-county region that includes Long Island. Inflation was last at this level, year over year, in June.
The index increased 1.4 percent in August compared with 2011.
Month over month, prices rose 0.4 percent in September compared with August.
Martin Kohli, chief regional economist at the statistics bureau, said the higher cost of clothing, gasoline and housing was behind much of the increase.
Pump prices climbed 4.4 percent between August and September. They were up 6.5 percent from a year ago.
Rents rose 2.5 percent last month compared with 2011. Medical care was up 4.8 percent, and clothing, 1.6 percent.
Sarra Sounds Off, Season 3, Ep 4: Top football teams in action, fantasy update and plays of the week Gregg Sarra sounds off on the Nassau Conference II football matchup between Calhoun at Carey, plus the comeback story of New Hyde Park's Gabriel Peter, an update on the high school fantasy football standings and the plays of the week.
Sarra Sounds Off, Season 3, Ep 4: Top football teams in action, fantasy update and plays of the week Gregg Sarra sounds off on the Nassau Conference II football matchup between Calhoun at Carey, plus the comeback story of New Hyde Park's Gabriel Peter, an update on the high school fantasy football standings and the plays of the week.
