Grocery inflation in recent months has shown signs of cooling, stated the White House in a blog post, Wednesday. Factors including the pandemic, global supply chain bottlenecks, the war in Ukraine, and avian flu have led to higher-than-normal prices at retail for much of the last year.
The Council of Economic Advisors indicated that, when looking at three-month changes, grocery inflation on a three-month annualized basis was down 0.9 percent in April, much below the 1.5 percent increase in March, and the peak of 15.7 percent in July 2022. Additionally, the consumer price index for grocery is much lower than that of the headline CPI, the raw inflation figure reported through the index: in April the value on a three-month annualized basis was 3.2 percent compared to grocery’s -.9 percent. These lower values indicate a moderating economic environment for grocery.
The declines in prices for eggs and produce are helping to lower grocery inflation. Egg prices, for example, fell 18 percent between January and April of 2023, and the White House maintains that its prices will continue to moderate in the months ahead.
In looking ahead, the blog post noted that CEA staff expect grocery inflation to improve over the year, but still remain elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels. Full Story
Related: Consumers Compelled to Tip at POS; H-E-B Plans Two Dallas Joe V’s Smart Shops