MIAMI.- While it is true that the Federal Reserve retains modest optimism because the year-on-year inflation rate in the United States ended in 2023 at around 3.4% when this result is scrutinized in some cities, Miami, for example, does not fare well in the performance in the evolution of prices and exceeds the national average.
To determine how inflation is affecting people in different parts of the country, a study of WalletHub compared 23 major MSAs (metropolitan statistical areas) with two key metrics related to the Consumer Price Index: The CPI for the last month (December 2023) versus the previous 2 months (October and November 2023) and the CPI for the last month ( December 2023) compared to the same period 1 year ago.
In both contexts in the study the weight of each one is equal to 50 points, according to the methodology used. In the total score considering both CPIs, Miami (Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach) comes out with the second highest inflation score with 72.5 integers.
When the comparison of the last month is observed with that of two months ago, the CPI of Miami, which occupies second place, is lower (-0.20, deflation) but when it is measured with that corresponding to one year (December to December) that percentage rises to 5.70%, more than Dallas, for example, which with 5.20% holds first place because it showed 0.90% in the measurement compared to the previous two months.
The ranking (integers) of the main cities studied with the most inflation problems completes it
- Urban Honolulu: 70.58
- San Diego: 66.09
- Detroit-Warren-Dearborn: 62.12
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater. 61.09. In this case, inflation compared to one year was 5.20%
- Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX: 59.62
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 59.55
- Denver-Aurora-Lakewood: 54.62
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington: 54.42 To give you an idea of the reference CPI studied (last month versus 2 previous months), this line showed 0.00% and that of the last month versus 1 year ago, 3.90%.
The price level well below the national average is Anchorage, AK with inflation in the last year of 1.80%
The personal finance company recalled that the US inflation rate reached a 40-year high after the pandemic, but has since cooled significantly due to factors such as the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes.
The year-on-year inflation rate has moderated to 3.4% in December 2023, which is good news for the Federal Reserve as it considers the outlook for monetary policy, the firm said.
The government may continue to raise interest rates in hopes of controlling inflation further. Several factors, such as the war in Ukraine and labor shortages, drive this relatively high inflation. However, inflation rates differ in the United States and hence the importance of the study, WalletHub concludes.
Source: WalletHub
