Inflation in South Florida was 2.6% in December compared to a year earlier, up slightly from the last reading in August before the government shutdown.
The federal government released the regional price data Tuesday. This was the first report since August.
The upward trend in prices is not solely due to tariffs imposed beginning in April by President Donald Trump. While higher tariffs are likely to blame for almost an 8% jump in clothing prices in the Miami metropolitan area over the past year, other items and services that are not imported also have continued an uncomfortable rise for many consumers. Medical care was up almost 4% and housing was up 3.4%.
“Inflation is too high,” Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic told WLRN before the December inflation figures were announced. “We have to get it under control, and we need to be laser-focused on making sure that everything we do is contributing to that.”
READ MORE: Regional head of Federal Reserve Bank still worries inflation is 'too high'
While the national and regional inflation rate increases have slowed, they remain well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Annual inflation was 2.6% nationwide to end last year.
"A lot of the actual cost pressures are happening outside of tariffs," Bostic said in an interview on Friday's The Florida Roundup.
Among the items keeping inflation elevated are food prices. Grocery store prices in South Florida are up more than 4% over the past year. Meat and egg prices are up 14% on a not seasonally adjusted basis. Milk, fruit and vegetables prices have fallen.
General service inflation, paying for such work as healthcare, education and insurance, was up almost 3%, a sign some economists point to as evidence of the resiliency of stronger-than-desired inflation as payments for services tend to be stickier than the ups and downs of prices of items.
Gasoline prices fell from November.
Core inflation, which strips out food and energy, was 2.5% in the region.
Steady prices is one of the two goals of the Federal Reserve. It tends to raise its target interest rate to choke off inflation. The central bank has lowered its short-term borrowing rate three times since September. The group next meets in late January to discuss its interest rate policy.
That discussion comes as the Trump administration is stepping up pressure on the Fed to cut rates. The bank received a grand jury subpoena late Friday for information regarding the renovation of its Washington, D.C. headquarters. Chairman Jerome Powell took the unprecedented step of releasing a video statement Sunday. “The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President,” he said.
The federal government reports South Florida’s regional inflation data every two months, however, the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not gather pricing data in October because of the government shutdown.
