March rose 0.4% in February, a 0.2% increase in food prices. Latest Consumer Price Index. Another surge in egg costs was a major factor in price increases this month.
Food at home
The Food at Home Index surged 0.5% in March, reflecting an increase of four of the six major grocery store food groups.
A 5.9% jump in egg prices and a 1.2% increase in beef prices led to an increase in meat, chicken, fish and egg indexes by 1.3%. Price increases for dairy and related products (+1.0%), non-alcoholic beverages (+0.6%) and other foods at home (+0.5%) reversed the February decline. Meanwhile, the fruit and vegetable index fell further by 0.5%, while the prices of cereal and bakery products fell slightly by 0.1%.
Over the past year, the Food at Home Index has increased by 2.4%. During that time, the meat, chicken, fish and egg indexes increased by 7.9% thanks to a 60.4% surge in egg prices. During the same period, prices of fruits and vegetables fell 0.7%.
Food away from home
In March, foods away from home indexes increased by an additional 0.4%, with full-service meals (0.6%) and limited service meals (0.2%) contributing to the increase. Foods away from home have experienced a total increase of 3.8% over the past 12 months.
