Meat and Fish Prices Continue to Decrease, Further Easing US Grocery Costs

The price US consumers pay for meat, poultry, fish, and eggs decreased once again in July, reflecting the ongoing downward trend in grocery costs.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, food inflation, encompassing both in-home and out-of-home consumption measured by the consumer prices index series, eased to 4.9% in the 12 months through July. This marks a decrease from June’s 5.7% and is less than half of the peak of 11.4% reached in August of last year.

While grocery prices for at-home consumption increased by 3.6% on an annualized basis, this is a decline from June’s 4.5%. Notably, the cost of meat, poultry, fish, and eggs fell by 0.2%, repeating the same decline as the previous month.

However, prices in other categories remained elevated compared to the previous year, albeit with a cooling effect compared to June. Cereals and bakery items increased by 7% in July, down from June’s 8.8%. Non-alcoholic beverages rose by 5.4%, decelerating from 7.6% in June. Fruit and vegetable prices climbed by 2.9%, slightly lower than June’s 3%. Dairy products saw an increase of 1.3%, compared to the previous rate of 2.7%.

The cost of eating out also experienced a slight decrease, with the food-away-from-home index rising by 7.1% in July compared to June’s 7.7%.

Overall, the US economy witnessed a slight increase in prices in July, with the all-items consumer price index rising by 3.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis. This is up from June’s annual headline inflation rate of 3%. On a month-on-month basis, prices remained stable, again rising by 0.2%.

Food costs in July edged up compared to June, with the mainline food index rising by 0.2% compared to a 0.1% increase. The at-home gauge climbed by 0.3% after remaining unchanged in June. Away-from-home prices rose by 0.2%, easing from the previous month’s 0.4% increase.

While US consumers are experiencing some relief in grocery costs, the situation in the UK is different. Grocery prices in the UK continue to rise at a double-digit pace, despite some cooling from a peak of 19.2% in March. In June, food and soft drink prices in UK grocers increased by 17.4%, slightly down from May’s 18.4%. July’s government data on UK consumer prices are due on August 16.