Portland-Salem Consumer Prices Rise 3.7 Percent in 2007

Annual average prices for medical care jumped 12.7 percent in 2007.

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(SALEM, Ore.) - From 2006 to 2007 consumer prices in the Portland-Salem metropolitan area rose 3.7 percent according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. The U.S. city average for the same period rose 2.8 percent.

Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden said higher costs for housing and transportation had the largest impact on the overall increase in the Portland-Salem area. The Portland-Salem energy special aggregate index, which accounts for just over 7 percent of the basket of goods, rose 9.7 percent in 2007.

For the same period, the Portland-Salem all items less food and energy index rose 3.1 percent. Local area CPI data are not seasonally adjusted.

Prices associated with housing rose 3.2 percent in 2007. Housing consists of three components: shelter, fuels and utilities, and household furnishings and operations. In 2007, shelter rose 3.5 percent and fuels and utilities rose 6.3 percent, while household furnishings operations declined 0.8 percent.

The overall transportation index rose 5.0 percent from the 2006 annual average. Gasoline prices rose 11.1 percent in 2007. Since 2002, gasoline prices have increased by more than 10 percent in each year. Private transportation, which includes gasoline as well as new and used cars, rose 5.4 percent over the past year.

Prices for food and beverages rose 3.4 percent in 2007. Grocery prices, represented by the food at home index, rose 3.1 percent last year, down from 3.4 percent during 2006. Food away from home rose 4.4 percent and alcoholic beverage prices rose 2.9 percent on an annual basis since 2006.

Annual average prices for medical care jumped 12.7 percent in 2007. The education and communication index declined 0.5 percent, while the miscellaneous other goods and services index rose 4.6 percent from 2006 to 2007. Annual average prices for apparel inched up 0.1 percent from 2006 to 2007, while the recreation index edged down 0.1 percent over the same period.

The Portland-Salem Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) measured 208.556 (1982-84=100) for the 2007 annual average. This means a market basket of goods and services that cost $100.00 in 1982-84 would have cost $208.56 in 2007.