Phila.-area consumer prices unchanged over 2 months

A big drop in the Philadelphia area's energy prices over the last two months offset an increase in the cost of food, leaving consumer prices locally unchanged, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. Both categories typically are volatile.

Even within the energy category, though, there was a wide divergence in the September-October period. For example, local gasoline prices increased 4.4 percent during the two months, a reflection of the recent spike in the cost of crude oil. The futures price for crude is up more than $10 a barrel since late August and closed Wednesday at $80.44.

Over the last 12 months, area gasoline prices increased 10 percent, the bureau said in its report on the Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation.

But area consumers in the September-October period saw a 7.2 percent drop in the cost of electricity - a seasonal decline, with higher summer rates normally kicking in every June and ending in October.

The result was an overall drop in energy costs of 0.4 percent during the two months.

Food prices, though, were up 0.7 percent, led by increases for fresh fruits, vegetables, and milk. Prices for eggs and soups fell.

The bureau measures inflation in the Philadelphia region bimonthly; the national CPI report is monthly. The local area consists of Philadelphia and the seven surrounding counties in Pennsylvania and South Jersey, plus Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, and Salem Counties in New Jersey; New Castle County, Del.; and Cecil County, Md.