PROVIDENCE – The Northeast consumer price index rose 1.6 percent year over year to 262.19 in January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Wednesday.
The United States city average CPI increased 2.1 percent in that time.
The basis of the CPI score is that prices were considered to be ranked as 100 in 1977.
Northeast fuels and utilities increased 5.4 percent year over year compared with the U.S. average 2.7 percent, including a 6 percent jump in household energy and a 4.4 percent increase in natural gas, both noticeably higher than the national average increases of 2.6 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.
Northeast housing increased 1.9 percent year over year, slower than the U.S. average of 2.8 percent.
Household furnishings and operations, apparel, and education and communications all declined both nationally and in the Northeast.
Household furnishings and operations declined 2.6 percent in January in the Northeast compared with a 0.5 percent decline nationally.
Apparel CPI also fell faster in the Northeast than elsewhere, falling 2.2 percent compared with a national 0.7 percent drop.
Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor.
