Inflation: Tampa Leads U-S Cities

NY Post 6/11/22

So much for the idea that inflation had already peaked.

Bloomberg reports May’s consumer price index showed that inflation is still very much roaring in the US economy, straining fragile budgets even further. Costs for things from baked goods and haircuts jumped, underscoring the broad-based nature of price pressures.

Nearly every category in Friday’s report showed prices continued to rise at a rapid clip. Here are some of the highlights, or lowlights, rather:

While Americans can’t get around sky-high prices for necessities like food and gas, a few discretionary categories came off the boil -- including for men’s pants and jewelry.

Bloomberg Graphic

Consumer prices in Tampa, Florida, surged by more than 11% in May from a year earlier, as torrid inflation rates continued to engulf the South and Southwest.

While inflation accelerated across the US, major metropolitan areas in the Sunbelt have had it even worse, driven in part by housing prices. Consumer prices in Dallas accelerated to 9.1%, according to government data released Friday.

Gasoline prices surged to a record $6.30 per gallon in Riverside, California, today, up more than $2 from a year earlier. In Tampa, gasoline is cheaper, but year-over-year rent growth was among the fastest of any city in May.

The overall US inflation rate rose to 8.6% in May. The government tracks prices in 23 metro areas, with New York, Los Angeles and Chicago reporting inflation every month and the other cities alternating every other month. Phoenix and Atlanta led big metro areas that reported prices in April, at record 11% and 10.8%, respectively.