Stock market and inflation news

Egg prices are still going up – way up – in the supermarket.

In January, egg prices rose 8.5% compared to the previous month, according to inflation data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the year to January, egg prices rose by 70.1%.

A highly contagious, deadly avian flu has wreaked havoc on the egg market and limited the national egg supply. That, plus higher feed and transportation costs for producers, has pushed up prices. And some producers are also increasing their own profits amid the turmoil, leading some to demand a federal investigation into possible price hikes.

Egg prices on the wholesale market reached a record in December and have been falling steadily ever since. But so far, those declines have not reached consumers, as can be seen in January’s numbers.

Many other foods have also become more expensive this year. The prices of some dairy products rose sharply: butter peaked at 26.3% and margarine rose by no less than 44.7%.

Many other staples have become much more expensive in the past year. Flour increased by 20.4%, bread became 14.9% more expensive, sugar increased by 13.5% and milk increased by 11%. Chicken prices increased by 10.5% and fruit and vegetables together increased by 7.2%. Hot dogs became 11.4% more expensive. Breakfast sausages increased by 10.1%.

But there were some items that became less expensive. Bacon prices fell 3.9% and uncooked steaks fell 3%.

Overall, groceries increased by 11.3% over the year, while menu prices increased by 8.2%. Collectively, food prices rose by 10.1% this year, outpacing headline inflation of 6.4%.

Ham prices increased by 3%, citrus fruits increased by 2.8% and packaged biscuits became 2.5% more expensive. Bananas were up 1.5% and rice was up 1.4%. Fresh fruit rose 0.8%.

But it’s not all bad news. There were plenty of items that got cheaper last month.

Pork chops and hot dogs fell 3.5% each, and fresh vegetable prices fell 2.3%. Tomatoes in particular experienced a sharp decline and fell by 7.7%. Butter fell by 1.7% and milk by 0.4%.