The food index increased 0.2% in December, according to the most recent CPI report. This comes on the heels of the same increase in November.
Food at home
The food at home index increased 0.1% yet again in December, the same increase as the previous month. Four out of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased during the month. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs saw the largest increase at 0.5%, with the index for eggs increasing 8.9%. The index for cereals and bakery products declined 0.3%, driven by the breakfast cereal index’s decrease of 2.4%, the largest decrease that index has seen since January 2007.
Price changes for the other major grocery store groups included:
- Dairy and related products: +0.3% (+0.1% in November)
- Nonalcoholic beverages: +0.2% (+0.5% in November)
- Other food at home: +0.1% (-0.1% in November)
- Fruits and vegetables: -0.1% (+0.3% in November)
The food at home index increased 1.3% over the past year. The index for other food at home had the largest increase at 2.8%. Dairy and related products went down 1.3% during the year.
Food away from home
The food away from home index increased 0.3% in December after a 0.4% rise in November. The index for full-service meals increased 0.3% after going up 0.5% in November. The index for limited service meals went up 0.4%, as it did the previous month.
The index for food away from home went up 5.2% over the past year. The index for full service meals rose 4.5%, and the index for limited service meals increased 5.9% during that time.
