BOSTON – The Boston-Brockton-Nashua area’s Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers increased 1.2 percent in March from January, according to nonseasonally adjusted data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish data on Rhode Island; the Boston index is the most relevant data available.
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Energy prices jumped 7.2 percent in March, fueled by the price of gasoline which increased 11.3 percent. In March, Boston motorists paid the highest prices for gas since September 2008 at $3.49 per gallon.
Prices for food edged up 0.4 percent in March, after increasing 1.3 percent in the previous two-month period. Grocery store and restaurant prices advanced 0.5 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.
The rest of the items the CPI-U tracks, excluding food and energy, added 0.7 percent in March.
From March 2011 to March 2010, the index increased 2.0 percent, mostly due to rising energy costs; gasoline surged 27.4 percent for the period. Food increased 1.8 percent, largely attributable to an increase in prices for food at home, as all items less food and energy advanced 0.5 percent.
The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers increased 1.6 percent since January to 244.324, the BLS said.
