ST. LOUIS — After declines in the prices of food and energy during the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the St. Louis region's consumer price index has rebounded and is starting to strengthen.
The consumer price index measures the average change over time of prices paid by consumers for goods and services. Indexes, broken down by categories of goods and services, are available for the U.S. and various geographic areas through the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In St. Louis, the consumer price index increased 1.2% over the past year and 0.1% for the two months ending in December.
Food prices for the past 12 months were largely unchanged, the BLS reported, reflected in a 2.4% price increase for food at home and a 3% decrease for prices in food away from home. In December, food prices dropped 0.8% with the largest contributors being lower prices for meats, poultry, fish and eggs.
Energy prices declined 7.8% over the past year, with motor fuel down 14.8%, natural gas down 1.8% and electricity down 0.6%. However, the energy index was on the rise in December, up 0.3%, mainly due to higher prices for motor fuel and electricity.
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