Soaring Natural Gas Prices Drive Minor Inflation Bump

November National Consumer Prices Were up 3.1 Percent

Consumer prices in the Greater Boston region were up just slightly, 0.4 percent, across October and November thanks to higher prices for energy, especially natural gas.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said natural gas prices made their largest jump since November 2009, soaring upwards by 60.8 percent for the two months ending in November. Electricity prices were up 2.5 percent while gasoline prices were down 7.3 percent, BLS said. Overall, energy prices increased 4.6 percent across October and November.

If food and energy prices were taken out of the equation, prices for all other items were up 0.1 percent for the two-month span, BLS said. Shelter prices were up 0.7 percent (including a 1.3 percent rise in the price of rent) and motor vehicle prices were up 0.7 percent, but apparel prices were down 7.7 percent, and education and communication prices were down 1.2 percent.

Over the last year, the Greater Boston area’s CPI-U (or Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers) has risen 2.4 percent overall. It has also posted a 5.3 percent increase in food prices and a 14 percent decline in energy prices year over year.

BLS also announced Tuesday that November consumer prices were up 3.1 percent nationally compared to a year earlier and were up 0.1 percent from October.