Filed by KOSU News in Business.
January 3, 2012

If you, like me, order a tall coffee when you go to Starbucks, you’ll be paying 10 cents more. The Seattle coffee chain is raising prices in the Northeast and across the Sunbelt with the exception of California and Florida.

Cities like Boston, New York, Atlanta and Dallas will also see an increase of about 1 percent on other drinks. Starbucks said its next bigger size, grande, will cost the same.

Jim Olson, a company spokesman, told the AP “the prices reflect competition in certain markets and higher costs for coffee, fuel and other commodities.”

The Christian Science Monitor reports:

“The price boost comes at a time when inflation is a significant worry for consumers. During the past 12 months, food prices in the US are up an average of 4.6 percent, and overall inflation in consumer prices was 3.4 percent, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“Consumers have seen prices rising over the past year on everything from fuel to health care, college tuition to clothing.

“Food chains like McDonald’s have been part of the trend – and something consumers easily notice.”

The Seattle Times reports that Starbucks had raised prices in November for the Pacific Northwest, California, the Midwest and Hawaii. Part of the reason is that “coffee commodity prices hit multi-decade highs in the past year.” [Copyright 2012 National Public Radio]