The Federal Reserve is still hoping to cool the overall inflation rate to 2%. 'So if you're looking at causes, it's probably in those spaces.' Central bankers make their move next 'The cost of agriculture relative to other costs for food is small it's mainly labor, transportation, and real estate,' Lusk said. In an interview, Lusk noted wages in the food service industry have jumped more than 20% for food and beverage retailers compared with pre-pandemic levels. As a result, the category has generally moved in lock step with the official Consumer Price Index.įood prices are influenced by the same forces as other sectors, including higher wage costs, said Jayson Lusk, a professor and head of the Department of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University. While that metric is down from the 14.3% high last September, consumers are increasingly buying more of their groceries online, according to the Adobe data.

Prices for food ordered online climbed 8.2% over the past 12 months in May, according to data from the Adobe Digital Price Index, a separate reading unrelated to the inflation data published by the U.S. Groceries are also continuing to see rapid increases. It's a pace, they say, that is 'consistent with underlying price inflation stably around 4.5% to 5%.' In a note to clients Monday, economists at Citibank said workers' pay increases continue to be substantial at about 6% since March 2022. Some things aren't falling as dramatically Nearly one year after inflation peaked at a 40-year high of more than 9%, analysts are now debating just how fast inflation will continue to fall. Food-at-home prices rose 5.8% while prices for food away from home climbed 8.3%. For May, the 'core' services category, excluding housing costs, fell from 5.1% to 4.6% year over year.ĭeclines were seen across the board - but food price growth continues to accelerate faster than other categories, climbing 6.7% overall year on year. This is a key category the Federal Reserve has been watching because it's been the slowest to come down. The data shows that inflation - and the high prices that result from it - is finally starting to meaningfully come down.Įspecially notable was lower growth in the price of services, like medical services and air travel. A shopper looks over a selection of canned soups Apat the Tops Super Market in Greenville, N.Y.

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