Lower Inflation? Not at the Grocery Store – By Chris Gilligan (US News) / June 30, 2023
A spike in inflation to over 9% last year has largely subsided. But prices of staples like butter, sugar and potatoes that rose over 20% since the start of 2022 have yet to come down.
Inflation may be slowing after a dramatic spike in 2022, but many Americans across the country are still feeling pain in the grocery store.
Eggs are an example of how prices have fluctuated. The average price of a dozen eggs came down from $4.82 per dozen in January to $2.67 in May, but that price is still 38% higher than at the start of 2022, when a dozen eggs cost less than $2 on average. And it’s not just eggs: The prices of many grocery store items have risen over 20% since the start of 2022, including for staples like butter, sugar and potatoes..
Agencies like the Bureau of Labor Statistics use food prices and the costs of other consumer goods to calculate a measure of inflation known as the “consumer price index” or CPI.
In May, the general inflation rate – measured by the BLS as the year-over-year change in the CPI for all items – dropped to 4.0%, the lowest inflation rate in over two years. But in the last year, prices for both groceries and eating out at restaurants have grown more than prices for energy and all other consumer items.
