Gas & housing costs drive CPI up last month

The costs of hitting the road and buying a home continue to plague Wasatch Front consumers.

Those two components fueled a 1.2 percent increase in the Zions Bank Wasatch Front Consumer Price Index (CPI) from April to May, on a non-seasonally adjusted basis.

The local CPI has grown 3.1 percent during the past year, while the national figure has jumped 1.8 percent since May of 2018.{mprestriction ids="1,3"}

Rising transportation-sector prices drove the increase in the Wasatch Front CPI for the third consecutive month. Transportation prices climbed 2.4 percent in May, due mostly to rising gasoline and airfare prices. Year-over-year growth in the transportation sector slowed slightly, down to 1.5 percent from 1.7 percent in April.

Housing prices rose for the fourth consecutive month and now are 0.8 percent higher than in April. Hikes in apartment rental rates drove a small portion of the increase, while costs for temporary housing, measured via hotel and motel rates, rose 11 percent —a common summer season trend.

Housing’s year-over-year price growth, now at 4 percent, declined for the sixth consecutive month and is at the lowest point since April 2018, suggesting that housing price growth across the Wasatch Front is tempering.

The second-largest driver of year-over-year price increases is medical care, although its impact is modest compared to that of housing. Medical care prices edged up 2.4 percent from April to May and 7.5 percent since May 2018.

“The moderating price growth is a great sign for Utahns,” said Randy Shumway, chairman and partner of Cicero Group, a Salt Lake City-based consulting firm that does analysis and data collection for the Zions Bank CPI and the Zions Bank Consumer Attitude Index. “It means that we are reaching a more sustainable level of both supply and demand. Producers are hitting their stride, yet still have room to grow while consumers are pleased to see price changes evening out.”{/mprestriction}