Consumer prices are inching higher in Utah

Prices are creeping up at the gas pump and in the grocery line, as the Deseret News found out when it went on its monthly shopping trip to fill its imaginary cart.

The shopping list includes commonly used items like diapers, cereal and eggs, as well as regular unleaded gasoline, a takeout pepperoni pizza and a movie ticket.

Prices have dropped 5.7 percent overall since the first shopping spree in April 2008. But they are up 3.5 percent over last month — and that was up a little from the month before.

The increase has been led by gasoline prices that are inching up, although at $2.30 a gallon, they remain well below their record highs of $4.18 along the Wasatch Front last summer. For a while, though, they had dropped below $2, a price that now appears to be relegated to the rearview mirror.

On Monday, the Utah metro average price in Provo-Orem for a gallon of regular unleaded was $2.31, while the average for a gallon in the Salt Lake City-Ogden area was $2.30. One year ago, it was $3.87, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

Two prices have been stable the entire time — orange juice and movie tickets have not budged in the 14 months that the Deseret News has been checking. The price of blue jeans has bounced between $19.99 and $21.99, depending on whether the price check occurred during a sale.

A particularly good sale can make a dramatic, albeit temporary, difference. Bread, for instance, is up 10 percent over the course of the year. However, it's up nearly 60 percent over its cost last month, not because of a humongous price increase, but because there was a terrific sale going on when the paper checked in May.

From a purely grocery-store perspective, prices have been "pretty flat" for a couple of months, according to Rand Mickelson, spokesman for Associated Foods. But industry experts warn that if gas prices continue to climb, they will show up in shrinking bank accounts as transportation costs are passed on to consumers.

E-MAIL: lois@desnews.com