Food prices rose for Americans in May, an increase that added to the pain of consumers hit by higher prices.
Overall food prices rose 0.2 percent in May compared to the previous month, an increase after remaining flat two months earlier.
The cost of groceries increased 0.1 percent in May, compared to April, when prices declined 0.2 percent. Food prices at restaurants 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 they are still much higher than they were before the pandemic. Food prices have increased by 6.7 percent compared to the previous year.
Fruit and vegetable prices increased by 1.3 percent in May after a decrease of 0.5 percent in April. The index for meat, poultry, fish and eggs fell 1.2 percent in May after declining 0.3 percent in April.
The price of eggs fell 13.8 percent, the largest decrease in that index since January 1951. This came after egg prices fell by 1.5 per cent in April and 10.9 per cent in March. Egg prices shot up after the bird flu outbreak a few months ago and the cost of fuel, feed and packaging went up.
Food prices began rising sharply about two years ago as labor, transportation and raw material costs rose, partly due to supply chain snarls and higher fuel prices. The result was that the companies passed on some of the cost increases to the consumers. Other factors, such as an extreme drought in the western United States, have also affected supply and raised food prices.
Although the cost of some food ingredients and other raw materials has declined in recent months, some large corporations, such as PepsiCo, have indicated that they will continue to raise prices or keep them high for the foreseeable future as consumers scale back. But have continued to buy the products.
Still, economists say overall food prices may show signs of softening as labor pressure eases and wage growth in the food industry slows, easing stress for companies. The recent fall in fuel prices has also helped bring down transportation costs.
Biden administration officials Near highlighted the recent slowdown in price increases for groceries, although he added, “the work is not yet done and there is considerable uncertainty around the outlook.”
Some shoppers have begun to feel some relief at the grocery store, but they continue to grumble at the exorbitant cost of food.
Hannah Hensley, 29, an assistant high school teacher who was shopping at a giant food store in Arlington, Va., on Sunday said she was frustrated by the high cost of food, which has put more pressure on her budget. She said weekly groceries for her family, which includes her parents and sister, now total $100, up from about $70 before the pandemic.
However, he said he was happy that the prices of some items had come down. A few months ago, when egg prices reached nearly $5 a carton, he stopped buying them. But she said a dozen eggs now costs her about $2.50, and on Sunday, she picked up a carton of them, along with oatmeal, tomatoes, mushrooms and sliced marble cake.
Ms. Hensley said she saw overall food costs not rising as much as a few months ago, and she expected prices to fall or at least remain stable.
“It is difficult to budget when prices keep changing,” he said.
