Inflation is hitting the Big Apple harder than a slew of other major US cities — with prices surging at their fastest pace since early last year, according to fresh government data released Wednesday.
From rent to groceries to school tuition, consumer prices across the New York and New Jersey metro area spiked 4.3% from a year ago – faster than 12 other big cities across the country and marking their quickest clip since March 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday.
The daunting report comes as the Consumer Price Index shows that prices nationwide rose 2.7% – above the 2.6% increase seen in October, but falling in line with expectations, the Labor Department said.
The numbers came in hotter than last month, but it’s likely not enough to stop the Federal Reserve from issuing a third round of interest rate cuts during its meeting next week. Investors’ odds of a quarter-point cut during the Dec. 17-Dec. 18 meeting shot up to 95% after the inflation report, according to CME FedWatch.
Inflation is cooling in most other parts of the country after massive pandemic-era highs of 9% in 2022 – but the bustling Big Apple is seeing prices soar at the fastest pace of any major city measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Food prices rose 1.8% in November since the year before – a 2.6% increase for dining out, and a 1.4% increase for food at-home, the data said.
The gains were largely driven by a 4% increase in meat, poultry, fish and egg prices.
“Many people talk to me about the added stress of making ends meet and even enjoying simple things such as a cup of coffee,” Jonathan Alpert, a New York-based psychotherapist, told The Post. “What was once a $3 indulgence is now close to $4 and at some independent coffee shops, well over $4.”
Housing prices in the city are rising faster than the national average. New York shelter prices rose 5.7% in November since the year before – above the 4.7% national gain.
“In NYC, there is a lot more demand for housing and it’s harder to build new construction, so you see shelter prices rising. Even a modest increase like 5.7% for shelter can have a very big impact on your overall household budget because of the already skyrocketing prices,” Ted Jenkin, business consultant and co-founder of oXYGen Financial, told The Post.
New Yorkers aren’t catching a break on furniture, either. Household furnishings and operations, which tracks the prices of home goods and services, rose a whopping 6.9% in November – way above the national 0.4% increase.
Household energy prices also shot up, with natural gas service costs jumping 13.9% – though gasoline prices dropped 13.4% in the same period, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
New Yorkers are feeling the pain when it comes to everyday purchases, too, as clothing prices spiked 4.1% since last year and transportation prices rose 3.8%.
Some companies may be hiking their prices ahead of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s congestion pricing, set to take effect Jan. 2025 – since “everything that comes in and out of NYC is on a truck,” Mahoney Asset Management CEO Ken Mahoney told The Post.
The tolls will be “like kerosene on a fire” when it comes to the prices of everyday goods for city slickers, as companies will pass along the added costs to consumers, Mahoney said.
New York City students did not escape the hotter-than-usual inflation, either, as tuition prices jumped 5.1%.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics measures inflation in 23 metro areas. New York, Los Angeles and Chicago report monthly, while the others report bimonthly.
