US grocery price increases continued to ease throughout June compared to the twelve months prior, according to the latest statistics.
The US Bureau of Labor reported through its consumer price index that overall food prices rose 5.7% in the twelve months through June, continuing a decelerating trend since last August’s peak of 11.4%.
The 5.7% increase is comparable to 6.7% in May, 7.7% in April and 8.5% in March.
Covering both the food consumed at home and while eating out, the bureau reported that the former rose 4.7% over the last twelve months, primarily led by a spike of 8.8% in the prices of cereals and bakery products.
The index for food away from home increased 7.7% over the last year. The index for full-service meals rose 6.2% and the index for limited-service meals rose 7.8% over the same period.
The meats, poultry, fish and eggs index declined 0.2% over the past year, with eggs specifically dropping 7.9% during the period.
Non-alcoholic beverages, including carbonated drinks, juices and coffee, jumped 7.6% in total for the twelve-month period. However, these drinks products’ prices marginally fell 0.1% compared to the previous month.
Headline inflation of all items increased 3% over the last twelve months, slightly less than May’s 4% rise. The consumer price index rose 0.2% on a month-by-month basis after a 0.1% jump the previous month.
On a month-by-month basis, the US food price index rose minimally by 0.1% in June, with drops in dairy products by 0.3% compared to May and a notable rise of 0.8% in fruit and vegetables, following a 1.3% increase in May.
Last month showed a similar situation across the Atlantic where the UK’s food and beverage prices eased for the second consecutive month.
However, the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages still rose 18.4% year-on-year in May, compared to 19.1% in April. On a monthly basis, food inflation pulled back to 0.9% in May, compared to 1.5% in May last year.
Figures released yesterday (11 July) showed that food is the main driver of Germany’s high inflation rate as well. Inflation in June was 6.4% higher than twelve months earlier and up from 6.1% in May. The rate of inflation had slowed in the previous three months.
