Food prices are more expensive in the Denver metro area than they were last year, but energy costs are down, according to the latest inflation report released from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Thursday.
In the year through September, food prices in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area rose 2.1%, driven by a 5.8% jump in the cost of eating out, as measured by the BLS’s consumer price index for all urban consumers. Prices for food at home dropped 1.1%, led by a 5.2% fall in the index for meats, poultry, fish and eggs.
Meanwhile, the yearly index for energy prices fell 8.7%, led by lower prices for natural gas service.
The BLS did not list the percent drop for piped natural gas service from utilities. Separate US Energy Department data show that the price of natural gas delivered to residential consumers in Colorado in July was $15.71 per cubic foot, down 2.7% from $15.29 in July 2023.
According to Thursday’s BLS figures, a 12.2% yearly drop in the price of gasoline also contributed to the overall decline in the energy index.