The price US consumers pay for meat, poultry, fish and eggs dropped again in July as the cost of a basket of groceries continued to recede.
Food inflation, including in-home and out-of-home consumption measured by the consumer prices index series, eased to 4.9% in the 12 months through July, from 5.7% in June, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. That is now less than half the 11.4% peak reached in August last year.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
In terms of groceries for at-home consumption, prices increased 3.6% on an annualised basis, down from 4.5% in June. Meat, poultry, fish and eggs fell 0.2%, repeating a decline of the same magnitude a month earlier.
Elsewhere, however, prices remained elevated from 12 months earlier, although cooling from June.
Cereals and bakery items were up 7% in July, compared to 8.8% in June. Non-alcoholic beverages rose 5.4%, slowing from 7.6%. Fruit and vegetables prices climbed 2.9%, down a touch from June’s 3% rate, and dairy products increased 1.3% versus 2.7%.
The cost of eating out also became a little less expensive, as the food-away-from-home index rose 7.1%, compared to 7.7% in June.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataOverall, prices in the US economy increased slightly in July, with the all-items consumer price index rising 3.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis, up from June’s annual headline inflation rate of 3%, the Bureau said.
However, on a month-on-month basis prices were flat, again rising 0.2%.
Food costs edged up in July from June. The mainline food index rose 0.2%, compared to a 0.1% increase.
The at-home gauge climbed 0.3% after being unchanged in June. Away-from-home prices rose 0.2%, easing from 0.4% a month earlier.
While US consumers are seeing some relief in the cost of a shopping basket, it is a different picture in the UK, where grocery prices continue to increase at a double-digit pace, despite some cooling from a March peak of 19.2%.
In June, prices of food and soft drinks in UK grocers increased 17.4%, down from 18.4% in May.
July’s government data on UK consumer prices are due on 16 August.
