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A Mobil gas station on Old Country Road, in Riverhead,...

A Mobil gas station on Old Country Road, in Riverhead, is shown in February, 2024. Gasoline prices have come down recently, helping to blunt the impact of new tariffs, experts said. Credit: Newsday/John Paraskevas

Consumer prices in the New York area, including on Long Island, increased in May at their slowest rate since spring 2024.

The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Wednesday that its consumer price index for a 25-county region that includes New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, increased 3.4% in May compared to a year earlier. That year-over-year increase was the smallest so far this year and for much of 2024.

The last time prices climbed at May’s year-over-year rate or slower was March 2024, when they were up 3.4% from March 2023.

The price index is a measure of inflation.

"Falling gas prices and consumer caution about spending are constraining price increases," said John A. Rizzo, an economist and Stony Brook University professor. "Tariff uncertainty, massive cutbacks in government employment and the unpredictable behavior of the Trump administration generally have caused consumers to put the brakes on spending."

Gasoline prices fell 15.5% in May compared with a year earlier. Other notable drops include fruits and vegetables, down 1.6%, and clothing, down 2.8%.

The declines partially mitigated a steep rise in the cost of cereal and meat, poultry and eggs, which were up 6.6% and 6.2%, respectively, year over year.

Residential rents rose 5.3%, which was in line with increases seen earlier this year.

Outside the JCPenney department store in Bay Shore, consumers said they hadn’t seen price increases moderating.

“Every time I walk into a store the prices are higher than they were the last time I was there,” said Maria Hernández, 43, who owns a housing cleaning business. 

Nationwide, consumer prices grew faster in May than in April. The national index climbed 2.4% last month, year over year, compared with April’s 2.3%.

Joe Seydl, senior economist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank Credit.

Joe Seydl, senior economist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank Credit. Credit: Courtesy: J.P. Morgan Private Ba

Joe Seydl, senior economist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, said the effect of President Donald Trump’s 10% tariff on many imported goods has been blunted so far by lower costs for transportation and housing services across the country.

"We’re not really seeing much of an impact yet from tariffs ... We’re more likely to see evidence of that in June and July," Seydl told Newsday, adding that tariffs were responsible for an increase in the cost of home appliances and automobile parts last month.

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