“Swift swings” takes a quick peek at one economic trend.
The number: Southern California’s inflation rate hit a 28-month low in September.
The source: My trusty spreadsheet looked at three local Consumer Price Indexes – Los Angeles and Orange counties, Inland Empire, and San Diego County – and combined them into a cost-of-living benchmark tracking the combined two-month averages of the metro area results.
The curve
From the CPI’s perspective, Southern California prices rose at a 2.4% annual pace in September. That’s the slowest rate of increase since February 2021, and it’s down from 4% a year ago. By the way, inflation most recent top was at 8.6% in May 2022.
Details
Now, look at the 12-month cost-of-living increases by metro area …
Los Angeles and Orange counties: This monthly index showed prices growing 2.8% in the year ended in September. Besides January 2024, this represents the lowest inflation rate since March 2021. It’s down from 3.2% a year ago and down from inflation’s recent high of 8.6% in July 2022.
Inland Empire: The bimonthly index showed 1.4% inflation in September, lowest since May 2020. Down from 4.9% a year ago and a high of 10% in April 2022
San Diego: The bimonthly index showed a 2.5% rate in September, lowest since January 2021. Down from 4.7% a year ago and high of 8.3% in June 2022.
These cost-of-living cooldowns are in line with national trends. US inflation ran at a 2.4% annual in September, the lowest since December 2020. It’s down from 3.7% a year ago and a high of 9% in June 2022.
The spin
The recent good news on inflation helped convince the Federal Reserve in September to end its tight-money policy that was throttling the economy. The central bank’s first interest rate cut in four years is expected to be part of an extended period of falling financing costs.
Still, many shoppers still feel the pain of a cost of living that soared since the coronavirus upended the economy in early 2020.
In the past five years, consumer prices as measured by the CPI are up 23% across the nation and in the region, 25% in the Inland Empire and San Diego, and 21% in LA-OC.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com
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