For it’s 40th Season the PNC Christmas Price Index (CPI) has compared the cost for one set of each of the gifts given in the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
PNC compares the purchases against the costs from the previous year to produce the Index. With inflation still top of mind for everyone’s budget it’s perhaps a bit surprising to see that the total cost of the 2023 CPI comes in at $46,729.86. That’s just a 2.7% increase over last year’s $45,523.27price tag, which was a whopping 10.5% increase from the previous year.
“The most aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate hiking cycle in history and slowing growth in some of the largest global economies, along with other macroeconomic crosscurrents, have helped lower the PNC CPI compared to recent years,” said Amanda Agati, chief investment officer for PNC’s Asset Management Group. “Certain industries are experiencing stickier inflation than others, some of which is well beyond the Fed’s control. The good news is that wage growth is now higher than the PNC CPI, which should help True Loves deck the halls this year, considering we are still in a high-inflation environment.”
The CPI total is based on purchasing one set of each of the 12 days’ items, however, if one was to purchase each and every one of the gifts given by the True Love including each repetition of the song, the 364 presents tally up to a stratospheric $201,972.66, crossing the $200k threshold for the first time.
There were no price increases this year for five of the gifts of the Index, including the Four Calling Birds, Five Gold Rings, Seven Swans-A-Swimming, Eight Maids-A-Milking and Nine Ladies Dancing. Although the Partridge cost was unchanged, there was a 15% jump for the Pear Tree — a proxy for housing costs that continue to move higher despite the highest mortgage rates since 2000.
Higher wages for skilled labour also has a knock-on effect on the CPI with the prices for performers increasing 3.3% this year, although substantially lower than last year’s 14.6% surge.
For a full breakdown of the costs of each day of the PNC Christmas Price Index visit pncchristmaspriceindex.com and check out the Activity Book DIY Craft Projects for each of the Days to create your own version of the 12 Days of Christmas with your family.