Inflation in San Diego held steady, better than some experts feared due to the ongoing tariffs and government shutdown.
In fact, the Consumer Price Index Report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics came in about 10 days late. Here are a few highlights specific to San Diego County:
The cost of overall groceries in San Diego saw a nice drop of 1.4% over the last local report in July. Specifically, dairy prices dropped 4.8%. However, meat, poultry, fish and eggs went up 0.5%.
Buying a new car in San Diego also got a bit cheaper compared to July, as did used cars. But compared to a year ago, we’re paying more, particularly on a used vehicle.
Finally, brace yourself for this one. Clothing went up 10.6% in San Diego County, compared to the last local report. However, before you slap your forehead, we’re still paying almost 6% less for clothes than we paid last year.
Local economists believe tariffs are partially to blame for the recent jump in prices for clothing, even when they’ve been able to absorb to some extent the tax on imports.
“I think that a lot of businesses are still thinking that these tariffs might be temporary, and they’re still trying to absorb those interest costs and not pass them to consumers,” said Andreas Rauterkus, finance professor at California State University, San Marcos.
But he added he’s not sure if companies will be able to maintain their current strategies come the holidays.
“It could be very hard on prices,” Rauterkus said. “Particularly toys and other things might be going up because of tariffs.”