Local inflation up 2.9% over 2010
Food in a grocery store. Credit: Getty Images
Rising prices for gasoline and food sent inflation up 2.9 percent last month in the New York metropolitan area compared with a year earlier, the largest such increase in 2½ years. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday that prices grew faster year-over-year in May than at any time since October 2008, following a pattern first seen in April.
Inflation rose 4.3 percent in October 2008 in the 31-county region that includes Long Island.
Prices increased 0.6 percent last month compared with April.
Higher costs for gasoline, groceries and housing were to blame, said Michael L. Dolfman, regional commissioner of the federal labor department, which encompasses the bureau.
Pump prices were up 37.7 percent year over year, and 5.8 percent from April. Groceries rose 2.7 percent year over year, propelled by the higher cost of pork, chewing gum, milk, candy, ice cream and lettuce.
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