Gasoline prices dropped by nearly a fifth between September and November and meat and poultry prices fell by 6.7% in metro Denver, leading to the first bi-monthly decline in consumer inflation in 14 months, according to an update Tuesday from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Between September and November, prices in Denver fell by 0.34%. This was the first two-month period of deflation since September of last year,” said Cole Anderson, a research analyst with the Common Sense Institute, in an emailed report.
The Consumer Price Index for Denver-Aurora-Lakewood dropped to an annual rate of 4.5%, down from 5.4% in September. Metro Denver is still outpacing the U.S. CPI rate of 3.1% in November, but the gap is narrowing.
The heaviest upward pressure on prices for metro Denver came from a 6.2% gain in shelter costs, a heavily-weighted category that includes rents and a rent equivalent for people who own their homes.
Metro Denver diverges widely from the rest of the country when it comes to utilities. Those “energy services” are up 11.8% the past year locally compared to a 1.7% gain nationally.
Given that electricity prices are down 0.7% the past year in metro Denver, natural gas prices are likely behind the outsized gains, but those aren’t broken out in the bi-monthly reports for metro Denver.
Grocery costs are up 1.8% on the year, and prices are softening in several staples. Nonalcoholic beverages are down 1.5% on the year, and dairy products are up only 0.1%.
Over the past two months, prices for meat, poultry, fish and eggs fell 6.7%, while cereal and baked goods dropped 2.4%. Restaurant inflation, however, is still running a hot 7.6%, reflecting higher labor costs.
Gasoline prices have plunged 20% in the past two months and they are down 6% on the year and look likely to continue heading lower based on futures prices, which slipped below $2 a gallon this week.
And while new car prices remain up 1.7% on the year, used car prices are down 4.9% in metro Denver, with used electric vehicle prices in particular seeing very sharper declines.
A declining inflation rate last month helped Denver drop down in the rankings of the 23 metros where inflation is tracked. Miami has the highest inflation rate at 7.5% with Dallas, San Diego and Orlando, Fla., all at 5.2%. Seattle was running at 4.8%.
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