Higher prices for eggs helped drive a 0.3% increase in the cost of groceries in December.
The overall Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% in December, reflecting in part the increase in food prices, and was up 2.9% from December 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. Still, the increase in the index for food eaten at home of 1.8% from December 2023 is still below the 20-year average for food inflation.
Egg prices, which have been spiking again amid another surge of avian flu outbreaks, are up 36.8% since December 2023 after rising 3.2% last month.
Shoppers also are seeing higher prices in the meat and dairy cases and elsewhere in stores. The cost of cereal and bakery products rose 1.2% in December, beef prices rose 0.5%, chicken and pork prices were 0.3% higher, and prices for dairy products increased 0.2%. Prices for cheese rose 0.5%.
The index for prices of fresh fruits and vegetables declined 0.1% despite a 1.8% increase in the cost of apples and a 1% rise in tomato prices.
The cost of eating out also rose 0.3% in December and is up 3.6% year over year.
USDA's Economic Research Service estimates that grocery prices will rise 0.8% in 2025, while the cost of eating away from home rises 3.5%. From 2004 through 2023, grocery prices rose by an average of 2.7% a year.
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