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Food inflation cools again in February, driven by decrease in egg prices

Food inflation cools again in February, driven by decrease in egg prices
Food inflation cools again in February, driven by decrease in egg prices


Dive Brief:

  • Food-at-home prices rose in February at an 10.2% annual rate, down from the 11.3% rate recorded the month before, according to Consumer Price Index data released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The food-at-home index was up 0.3% in February compared with January — down from the monthly increase of 0.4% recorded last month.
  • Egg prices decreased 6.7% on a monthly basis, compared to its 8.5% increase in January, indicating that prices of the protein may be recovering from its peak at the start of the year.
  • Overall inflation continued to drop in February to a yearly pace of 6%, marking the smallest 12-month increase since the period ending September 2021, the BLS noted.

Dive Insight:

As overall inflation has continued to abate in recent months, grocery prices are also following a similar trajectory.

In February 2022, food-at-home prices skyrocketed at an annual pace of 8.6% during a month that saw overall inflation hit 7.9%. Those figures climbed even higher in August, reaching 13.5% and 8.3%, respectively. Overall inflation peaked at 9.1% last June. 

In recent months, though, food-at-home prices and inflation have started to come down. 

Prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs dropped 0.1% in February compared with the month before, marking the first decrease for those items since December 2021. Eggs prices also declined 6.7% after steep increases in prior months.

Nonalcoholic beverage prices increased 1% in February compared to the prior month, while cereal and bakery product prices rose 0.3%. The index for fruits and vegetables increased 0.2%, while the index for dairy and related products rose 0.1% for the same period. 

Gasoline prices recorded a smaller month-to-month increase in February (1%) compared to the January increase of 2.4%.

While the downward trend of consumer price increases are putting less pressure on consumers’ wallets, it also comes at a time when the federal government is dealing with a shaky financial system. In recent days, the fall of two large banks has raised questions about the Federal Reserve’s plan to increase interest rates to battle inflation. 

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