Inflation: Egg and other grocery prices start to crack

Good news for consumers: Grocery prices were down 0.2% in March compared to February—the first drop since September of 2020. That’s much lower compared to last month, when grocery prices were up 0.3%. The bad news: food prices are still higher year-over-year. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) March Consumer Price Index (CPI), the cost of groceries is up 8.4% compared to March 2022. Still, that’s far lower than the highs of August 2022, back when grocery prices were up 13.5% year-over-year. That was the largest increase since March of 1979, according to Steve Reed, a BLS economist. Back in August, monthly a monthly basis, prices jumped 0.7%. Meanwhile, overall food prices, including fare at bars and restaurants, increased 8.5% in March, compared to 9.5% last month. The cost to dine alone is up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis and up 0.6% on a monthly basis. Food inflation remains higher compared to overall inflation, which was up 5.0% year-over-year and 0.1% over last month. The breakdown Egg prices continued to drop after soaring 70% on a year-over-year basis back in January. In March, eggs decreased 10.9% on a monthly basis, but remain higher on a year over year— up 36.0%. Other food prices declined on a month-to-month basis: Ham, excluding canned (-1.6%), pork chops (-1.4%), milk (-1.3%), peanut butter (-2.3%), instant coffee (-2.4%), and shelf-stable fish and seafood (-2.1%), which saw a jump back in February following economic sanctions on Russia. Fruits and vegetables were also lower (-1.5%). Lettuce played a major role in that decline, down -5.6%, in addition to tomatoes (-3.4%) and oranges including tangerines (-1.5%). Other grocery prices, though, increased on a month-over-month basis in March: cereal and cereal products (+1.3%), other bakery products such as doughnuts and crackers (+1.8%), uncooked beef steaks (+1.4%), bacon and related products (+1.0%), lunch meats (+1.3), and snacks (+2.2%).