Food is still getting more expensive

The prices of some grocery staples have hit their highest price points in almost a year.

Transcript:

Conway Gittens: It’s Fed week and investors are playing it safe. While word on the street is the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates by a quarter-percentage point, investors are not sure how many cuts to expect in 2025. Stocks held close to the flat-line on Monday, Bitcoin, however, touched a fresh record high.

On Wednesday, Wall Street will get a read on industrial production and an important update on retail sales.

And speaking of retail, if you’re feeling woozy at the supermarket checkout line – the return of higher food prices might be the culprit. According to the government’s November Consumer Price Index, the cost of eating at home rose half a percent on a month-to-month basis and 1.6 percent than the same time a year ago.

So which aisles are grocery shoppers experiencing the biggest sticker shock? Egg prices surged 37.5 percent from the same time last year. So-called other condiments – think mayonnaise – which is made mostly of eggs – up 16.1 percent. Frozen non-carbonated juices and drinks, like orange juice, cost 17.2 percent more. Dried beans and peas, up 7.4 percent. Beef and pork chops up 5 percent. Instant coffee up 4.6 percent.

Food inflation is back for a number of reasons: bird flu is hurting egg production, drought has pushed cattle-raising to a 70-year low, and the effects of climate change are showing up in every food group on the planet. The only caveat: flour, breads, and baked goods were the only categories where food is cheaper now than it was a year ago.

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