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Atlanta inflation report shows metro area only slightly above national average – WSB-TV Channel 2

ATLANTA — Atlanta’s latest consumer price index shows inflation in the region was just one point above the national average for February, according to the most recent data available for the metro area. ‘Atlanta.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a national CPI each month and regional reports every other month. The latest CPI for the Atlanta region was released on May 12.

For the Atlanta area, the BLS said inflation was 3.3% from February 2023 to February 2024.

By comparison, last February, the U.S. CPI was 3.2%, according to the BLS.

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In both regional and national inflation reports, housing costs and energy were major contributors to overall price increases.

“Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that the housing index continued to rise from December to February and was a major contributor to the biweekly increase in all items,” for the Atlanta metro area, according to the BLS.

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The cost of housing, housing prices such as rent and mortgages, remains the largest factor, according to the BLS, with housing costs accounting for more than 60% of the overall annual increase, continuing a streak of several month nationally.

“The housing index increased 5.7% over the past year, accounting for more than 60% of the total 12-month increase in the all-items index excluding food and energy,” the BLS reported in March.

When it comes to costs in Atlanta, prices for food, gas, and housing have increased. According to the BLS, the largest price increases in the region are for household gas utilities, car fuel and housing.

Rent costs for the metro area increased by 6.5%, while the overall cost of the landlord’s rent equivalent, i.e. mortgages, increased by 6.4%.

Nationally, the housing index rose 5.7% in the most recent CPI.

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