Food prices were flat for the second month in a row in April, providing relief to many Americans who have faced higher costs at grocery stores in recent months.
This is a significant improvement over February, when prices rose 0.4% for the entire month.
Household food prices fell 0.2% from the previous month in April. Restaurant food prices continued to rise, rising 0.4% for the month, down slightly from 0.6% in March.
Even though food price increases have eased, costs are still much higher than before the pandemic. Overall, food prices rose 7.7% last year.
Fruit and vegetable prices fell 0.5% in a month, while meat, poultry, fish and egg indexes also fell 0.3%. Milk prices fell 2%, the biggest drop since February 2015. Egg prices soared after the bird flu outbreak, rising costs for fuel, feed and packaging, but he fell 1.5% from a 10.9% drop in March.
Prices of cereals and bakery products rose 0.2%, down from a 0.6% rise in the previous month.
grocery prices started shooting About two years ago, labor costs, transportation costs, and raw material costs soared. Other factors, such as rising food marketing and packaging costs, have also resulted in companies passing those costs on to consumers. Weather-related events such as extreme drought in the western United States are reducing crop yields and increasing supply costs.
Economists said food prices may be starting to soften as labor pressure eases and industry-wide wage growth has slowed in recent months. The recent drop in fuel prices has also contributed to lower transportation costs.
The price consumers pay for food in restaurants typically changes more slowly because it involves more labor costs.
“Americans have had to face massive increases in the cost of basic necessities,” said Sarah House, senior economist at Wells Fargo & Co. “The fact that we’re seeing some easing here is very important for consumers.”
