'Twelve Days of Christmas' to set you back a great deal more

The "Twelve Days of Christmas" would set you back a great deal more this year -- and the nine ladies dancing are to blame.

So says the annual tongue-in-cheek economic report from PNC Bank, which takes a look at how much it would cost each year to actually buy all of the things in the iconic Christmas carol. The so-called "Christmas Price Index" increased 7.7 percent this year, much higher than the meager rate of inflation. If the "true love" in the song gave each of the rounds of presents only once, they would cost $27,393.17 this year, more than a thousand dollars more than 2012.

The "nine ladies dancing" in the song increased the most, jumping 20 percent in the past year. PNC's economists says the major jump was in effect to offset small raises in pay in previous years. Your 10 Lords-a-Leaping had the second highest wage increase, at 10 percent.

Don't worry. Your partridge, two turtle doves, three French hens, five golden rings, six geese-a-laying, seven swans-a-swimming and eight maids-a-milking won't cost you any more this year. And your pear tree actually fell in price.

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