DC Area Residents Paying More For Gas Along With Food, Furniture, Clothes

VIRGINIA/DC — There's been a jump at the gas pump lately in the D.C. area. But area residents are also paying more for a wide variety of other essential items, including food, furniture and clothes, according to federal statistics.

Gas prices have increased in Virginia, D.C. and across the nation, due in large part to high crude oil prices, analysts say. AAA Mid-Atlantic says the average price of a gallon of regular gas in Virginia on Wednesday was $3.22, up five cents from a week ago and 23 cents from a month ago.

A year ago, the average price of gasoline in Virginia was $2.16, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the price of all grades of gasoline has climbed by 36.8 percent in D.C. and Virginia since September 2020, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). And it may be causing a ripple effect for other essential goods, officials said.

All energy prices in the D.C. metropolitan area have increased by 21.7 percent since September 2020. The rise was due almost entirely to the 36.8 increase in gasoline prices. Over the year, prices also increased for natural gas service at home, up 21.0 percent, and for electric utility service, up 3.8 percent.

In the D.C. region, following a 1.5-percent increase from May to July, the food index advanced 1.9 percent over the last two months, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Prices for food at home increased 2.1 percent, and those for food away from home rose 1.6 percent. For food at home, prices were higher for items such as uncooked beef steaks, while prices were lower for several categories, including breakfast cereal and lettuce.

Food-at-home expenditures are defined as purchases of food at grocery stores and other food stores where the final purchaser is the consumer.

Over the past 18 months, food producers have had to deal with shortages, bottlenecks, and transportation, weather and labor difficulties, all of which have caused food prices to rise.

Certain industry phrases — "turbulence and volatility" and "supply chain disruption" — have underscored rising grocery bills since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Washington Post reported in September.

Other yearly price hikes in the D.C. area included:

• Higher prices for shelter (1.9 percent) included an increase in owners' equivalent rent (1.6 percent)
• Higher prices for new and used motor vehicles (17.4 percent) included jumps in the new vehicle market (10.5 percent) as well as used cars and trucks (25.0 percent)
• Prices for household furnishings and operations were up 4.9 percent over the year
• Prices for alcoholic beverages rose by 2.5 percent
• Prices for "apparel" rose by 1.6 percent

In 2022, food-at-home price increases are expected to slow down to between 1.5 and 2.5 percent, down from 2.5 to 3.5 percent overall in 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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