(The Center Square) – The Consumer Price Index dropped by 3.3% in Anchorage, Alaska, from July 2022 to July 2023, while other large metro areas saw steep increases, according to a report from WalletHub.
The consumer website compared the rate for 23 metros in July 2023, comparing statistics to the pre. Anchorage’s CPI increased from June to July by 0.4%, according to the report.
The metro area’s inflation rate is 17.86. The Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colorado area had the highest rate of the 23 states at 89.22.
Anchorage also had the lowest consumer price index change from July 2022 to July 2023, the report said.
Morris A. Davis, professor and Paul V. Profeta Chair in Real Estate and the academic director of the Center for Real Estate Studies at Rutgers Business School, said certain factors will drive down inflation.
“Hopefully, the Russia-Ukraine war will be over soon and the COVID pandemic is essentially over so the impact of supply disruptions on inflation should go away soon,” Davis said. “Additionally, the Fed is trying to reduce demand for goods and services by raising interest rates. The key is to get the core inflation rate to 2 percent.”
The inflation rate doesn’t tell the entire story behind the U.S. economy, Davis said.
“I think the thing we should all be worried about is the debt ceiling,” Davis said. “If the U.S. government defaults on a debt payment, chaos will ensue in financial markets, a major recession or worse will follow, and the dollar may massively revalue.”
