NY metro area prices edge up on rising rents
A for rent sign on a house on Elvira Court in Huntington, March 1, 2016. Credit: Ed Betz
Consumer prices in the metropolitan area edged up last month compared with a year ago on higher residential rents.
The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday said its consumer price index for the 31-county region that includes Long Island rose 0.7 percent in March compared with a year earlier.
Residential rents continued to propel the index. They increased 3.9 percent in March, year over year.
The cost of restaurant meals was up 3.2 percent while grocery prices fell 1.5 percent.
The cost of gasoline was down 21.8 percent last month compared with March 2015. The price of electricity fell 3.8 percent, and natural gas was up 1.6 percent.
Clothing prices fell 1.8 percent, year over year, while the cost of medical care increased 1.6 percent.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
