The cost of everything from cream cheese to car repairs rose again last month, as wholesale prices increased for the seventh month in a row, the Labor Department said Tuesday.
The price producers paid for goods — often passed on to consumers — jumped 1.2 percent in July after a 1.8 percent increase in June, bringing prices up an average of 9.8 percent from a year ago.
Analysts had predicted last month’s increase would be 0.5 percent.
The steep seven-month climb means that prices have risen faster in the past 12 months than in any year since 1981.
Locally, shoppers are feeling the pinch.
District resident Deborah Stinnie said she has cut down on buying fruit and other fresh goods that may expire before she has a chance to eat them.
“I try to catch things on sale and only buy things that are necessary,” she said outside of a CVS store. “It’s not only the gas — it’s the food, it’s our paper plates, it’s everything.”
Food prices increased slightly last month after a sharper jump in June, according to Labor Department statistics.
The cost of beef and veal, fluid milk products, soft drinks, potatoes, bakery products and boxed meat climbed, while prices for most fresh vegetables, eggs, fresh fruits and frozen juices dipped.
The price of home heating oil rose 3.7 percent in July after a 12.4 percent increase in June, and the index for residential electric power climbed 2 percent last month.
Economists said Tuesday that wholesale prices should begin to level off in September because they have been following the steep incline in oil prices, which began dropping this month after a historic rise.
“There’s been a lot of aggressive pricing both in the manufacturing and service sectors,” University of Maryland economist Peter Morici said. “Some of that has stuck because it really made sense, such as for delivery services, where they use a lot of energy.”
He predicted that not all of the July wholesale price increases will end up hitting shoppers’ wallets, especially in markets that are not directly affected by energy costs, such as retail clothing.
“My feeling is that first these rising wholesale prices will start to moderate, especially come September and October,” Morici said, “and that not all of this is going to make it to the consumer anyway.”
