Inflation is ticking upward again.
The Consumer Price Index for August shows overall prices nationwide were up 3.7% from a year earlier.
"It was expected to tick up on a year-over-year basis relative to what we had seen the past couple of months because of rising gasoline prices," said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate.com. "Gas prices drove more than 50% of the increase."
The regional Consumer Price Index for South Florida - which includes Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach - showed prices in August jumped 7.8% over the year.
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"The inflation rate over the past 12 months here in South Florida was more than twice the national average,” McBride said. "The lion share of that is chalked up to shelter costs. The housing market has been remarkably robust in South Florida and that filters through the inflation."
The area also saw significant year-over-year increases in electricity prices at 12.2% and food prices at 5.6% in August.
"Here in South Florida, our food prices have increased at a faster rate than what’s being seen nationally,” McBride said. "It's still better than it was but when you look at our inflation rate relative to what’s being seen nationally, it’s one of the contributors to the higher inflation rate we’re seeing in South Florida."
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The Federal Reserve is set to meet next week and, despite the national uptick, McBride does not anticipate another rate hike just yet.
"Expect them to hold interest rates steady at their meeting … but maintaining a stance that they may choose to raise rates before the year is out," he said.
The Fed has been focused on reigning in inflation and has raised its rates from just above zero in early 2022 to their current range of 5.25% to 5.50% -- the highest since 2001.
If you are wondering how soon you could get relief from higher prices, McBride said it is important to consider that getting inflation under control does not mean prices will drop.
"It means not going up as fast and that’s what we’re aiming for,” he explained. “For much of the past couple of years, we saw inflation going up faster than household incomes … there’s still a lot of catching up to do. Household buying power probably isn’t going to return to what it was at the beginning of 2021 until the middle of next year.”
To read the latest Consumer Price Index report click here.
To see regional data for South Florida, click here
