Food prices continued to rise in January. Latest Consumer Price Index It shows an increase of 0.4%. This rise was particularly affected by a dramatic surge in egg prices, marking the biggest monthly increase since June 2015.
Food at home
The Food at Home Index rose 0.5% in January. This increased as four of the six major grocery store food groups were listed. The most important changes were in the meat, chicken, fish and egg categories, which increased by 1.9% that month. This increase was driven primarily by a significant 15.2% increase in egg prices, accounting for about two-thirds of the total foods in monthly food at home.
Includes price changes for other grocery categories.
- The non-alcoholic beverage index has increased by 0.9%.
- Both home and other dairy products saw a moderate increase of 0.3%.
- Cereals and bakery products were down 0.4% and were affected by a 3.3% drop in breakfast cereal prices.
- The fruit and vegetable index fell by 0.5%, with tomatoes (-2.0%) and other fresh vegetables (-2.6%) significantly lowering.
Looking at the big picture, Food at Home Index has risen 1.9% over the past year. The meat, chicken, fish and egg categories increased this increase by 6.1%, dramatically affected by a 53.0% surge in egg prices over the 12 months. Other notable annual increases include non-alcoholic beverages (+2.2%), dairy products (+1.2%), and other foods at home (+0.8%).
Food away from home
Foods away from home increased by 0.2% in January, meals from service increased by 0.3%, and full-service meals increased by 0.1%.
Over the past 12 months, foods away from home have increased by 3.4%, with both limited and full-service meals showing the same 3.3% increase.
