(Bloomberg) -- Los Angeles is seeing the biggest price gains in more than a year as inflation reawakens across US cities from New York to Honolulu.

California’s largest metropolitan area saw annual inflation of 4% in March, the highest level since February 2023, boosted by housing and energy costs. The New York City area also experienced a big jump, to 3.4%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Wednesday.

Overall the annual inflation rate accelerated to 3.5% last month, flaring in places such as New England and the Mid-Atlantic region that had experienced cooler-than-average price growth over the past year. In the South, where inflation has been the highest of the country, some cities such as Dallas and Tampa in Florida saw a relative cooldown.

The national rate has come a long way down from its 9.1% high in mid-2022. But the recent resurgence of inflation in parts of the country is likely to stymie any hope that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates any time soon from their current two-decades high.

Four cities reached or topped 4% in March. Besides Los Angeles, they were Dallas — which topped the 12 cities that reported in March with a 4.9% annual inflation rate, — urban Hawaii and Riverside, California. Of the three biggest US cities, only Chicago saw a slowdown in inflation. 

The federal government tracks prices in 23 metro areas, with New York, Los Angeles and Chicago reporting every month and the other cities alternating every other month. 

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.