Food prices rose in May

Food prices for Americans increased in May, an increase that adds to the pain of consumers affected by higher prices.

Headline food prices rose 0.2 percent in May from the previous month, an increase after being flat for the previous two months.

Grocery prices rose 0.1 percent in May, compared with April, when prices fell 0.2 percent. Restaurant food prices continued to rise, rising 0.5 percent for the month, up from 0.4 percent in April.

Food prices are rising at a slightly slower rate than a few months ago, but are still much higher than they were before the pandemic. Food prices have risen 6.7 percent in the past year.

Fruit and vegetable prices rose 1.3 percent in May, after a 0.5 percent decline in April. The meat, poultry, fish and eggs index fell 1.2 percent in May after falling 0.3 percent in April.

Egg prices fell 13.8 percent, the biggest decline in that index since January 1951. That came after egg prices fell 1.5 percent in April and 10.9 percent. cent in March. Egg prices had jumped a few months ago after an outbreak of bird flu and increased the cost of fuel, feed and packaging.

Food prices began to rise sharply about two years ago as labor, transportation, and raw material costs rose, partly due to supply chain entanglements and rising food prices. fuel. That resulted in companies passing some cost increases on to consumers. Other factors, such as extreme droughts in the western United States, have also reduced supplies and pushed up food prices.

Although the costs of some food ingredients and other raw materials have fallen in recent months, some large corporations, such as PepsiCo, have pointed out that prices will continue to rise or keep them high for the foreseeable future, as consumers have largely continued to buy products.

Still, economists say overall food prices could show signs of moderating as job pressures ease and wage growth in the food industry slows, reducing stress for businesses. Recent drops in fuel prices have also helped reduce transportation costs.

Biden administration officials have highlighted the recent slowdown in grocery price increases, though they have said: “The work is not done yet and there is considerable uncertainty around the outlook.”

Some shoppers have begun to see some relief at the grocery store, but continue to complain about the high cost of groceries.

Hanna Hensley, 29, a high school assistant teacher who was shopping at a Giant Food store in Arlington, Virginia, on Sunday, said she was frustrated with the high cost of food, which has become more of a strain on her budget. . She said weekly purchases for her family, which includes her parents and her sister, now total about $100, up from $70 before the pandemic.

However, she said she was glad to see prices on some items drop. When egg prices spiked to around $5 a box a few months ago, she stopped buying them. But she said a dozen eggs now cost her about $2.50, and on Sunday she picked up a box of them, along with oatmeal, tomatoes, mushrooms, and slices of marble cake.

Ms Hensley said she had noticed that overall food costs were not rising as much as a few months ago, and she expected prices to come down or at least remain stable.

“Budgeting is hard when prices are constantly changing,” he said.