After months of steady increases, the prices consumers pay for their groceries dropped in July. The monthly Consumer Price Index says that was the first decline in the price of food since April of 2019. However, the decrease was less than half a percent and Americans are still paying more for food than they did in 2019.
Prices in the last 12 months have risen 4.1 percent. COVID-19 forcing Americans to stay at home and cook more of their meals has driven up demand and prices at supermarkets. Prices for food that Americans typically eat at home is up almost five percent over the past year.
The Detroit Free Press says meat, poultry, eggs, dairy products, and cereals showed some of the sharpest increases seen in decades through April, May, and June. However, prices for those same products fell 3.8 percent in July.
Beef prices dropped the most in July at 8.2 percent. Back in April, beef prices had soared over 10 percent, with cuts like beef roasts increasing 20 percent. While prices for specific cuts dropped in July, those prices are still 14 percent higher than last year.
Dairy prices dropped 0.8 percent in July, the second-straight month of a decline.