US consumers have experienced a slight relief in August as grocery prices continue to ease from last year’s highs.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, food inflation, including both in-home and out-of-home consumption, increased by an average of 4.3% in the 12 months leading up to August. This is a significant drop from the peak of 11.4% reported in August of last year.
Compared to July (4.9%) and June (5.7%), the annualized rate of food inflation in August decreased to 4.3%.
Meanwhile, headline inflation, measured by the Bureau’s all-items index, increased to 3.7% over the 12 months, up from 3.2% in July. On a month-to-month basis, headline inflation tripled to 0.6%, compared to 0.2% in July.
Grocery prices for in-home consumption also showed a decline, increasing by 3% in August, down from 3.6% in July and 4.5% in June. Inflationary terms for eating out cooled to 6.5%, a decrease from 7.1% and 7.7% in the previous months.
In terms of specific food categories, protein prices remained flat in August, with zero-inflation rate reported for meat, poultry, fish, and eggs. However, the cost of cereals and bakery products rose by 6%, while soft drinks’ prices increased by 4.8% and fruit and vegetables by 2.1%. Dairy prices also saw a slight increase of 0.3% last month.
From July to August, overall food prices increased by 0.2%. The in-home measure of grocery prices also dipped to 0.2%, down from 0.3% in the previous month.
In August, meats, poultry, fish, and eggs saw a 0.8% increase in prices, while cereals and bakery products rose by 0.5%.
On the positive side for consumers, dairy prices decreased by 0.4% in August compared to July’s rise of 0.5%. The fruit and vegetables index and non-alcoholic beverages gauge both saw a 0.2% decrease.
The UK, which has been experiencing faster rising food and soft drinks prices compared to the US, is set to release its August figures on September 20.