After dancing with deflation last year, consumer prices in metro Denver are rising again.
The consumer price index for Denver-Boulder-Greeley rose 1.7 percent in the first half of the year from the first half of 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
The increase follows a 0.7 percent decline in the second half of 2009 and a 0.6 percent decline in the first half of 2009 from the same period the previous year.
“Energy has had the greatest impact in driving consumer prices either up or down over time,” said Linda Nickisch, an economist with the bureau.
Gasoline prices jumped 30.2 percent, pushing up the overall transportation index 11.4 percent. The gain reflects a rebound in oil prices from depressed levels in 2009.
Harder to explain was a 21.4 percent increase in household electricity costs during the first half, an unusually large jump.
Xcel Energy, the metro area’s dominant electricity provider, implemented rate increases in June 2009 and January 2010, said spokesman Tom Henley.
But those two weren’t large enough to explain the increase captured in the price survey.
Natural gas used to heat homes dropped 6.2 percent during the first half. Natural gas is also used to generate electricity.
Absent energy, the local consumer price index rose 0.4 percent, and some categories still showed declines.
Food consumed at home fell 3.5 percent, while clothing costs dropped 2.6 percent, and furnishing costs were off 3.4 percent.
Overall housing costs, the largest component in the index, rose only slightly, by 0.2 percent, even after higher electricity prices were added in.
Metro Denver’s inflation rate ran below the U.S. average of 2.1 percent in the first half but was above the 1.4 percent rate registered in the Western U.S., Nickisch said.
Aldo Svaldi: 303-954-1410 or asvaldi@denverpost.com
