Bay Area consumer prices rise at modest pace — but stay at high levels

Consumer prices in the Bay Area rose at a moderate pace in December in a hopeful sign that inflation is easing — but the cost of electricity provided by utilities such as PG&E rocketed higher, an official report shows.

The Bay Area inflation rate, as measured by the region’s consumer price index, rose 2.6% in 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday.

December’s inflation rate was the smallest annual increase for consumer prices in the Bay Area in almost three years, going back to February 2021, when prices rose 1.6% on a yearly basis, the government report showed.

Nationwide, inflation climbed by 3.4% in the United States in December compared with the same month the year before, according to the federal agency’s report.

In the Bay Area, the cost of electricity provided by a utility such as PG&E zoomed higher by 14.1% in December on a yearly basis. That marked the sixth consecutive month of double-digit annual increases in electricity costs in the Bay Area.

The price of natural gas piped into the home in the Bay Area by a utility such as PG&E decreased by 4.4%.

Food prices in the Bay Area, another key cost that the region’s consumers must pay, rose 2% in December compared to the same month the year before. That was a marked improvement from the annual increase of 2.8% for food prices in October.

The cost of food consumed at home in the Bay Area rose at an annual pace of 4.3% in December, which was significantly higher than the 1.9% increase in October.

Unleaded gasoline prices in the Bay Area jumped 4.4% in December. That snapped a string of 12 consecutive months of annual decreases in the region’s gas prices.