Food prices for Americans rose in May, an increase that adds to the pain of consumers pinched by higher prices.
Overall food prices rose 0.2 percent in May from the previous month, an increase after remaining flat in the previous two months.
Prices for groceries rose by 0.1 percent in May compared to April, when prices fell by 0.2 percent. Prices for food in restaurants continued to climb, rising 0.5 percent over the month, up from 0.4 percent in April.
Food prices are rising a little more slowly than a few months ago, but they are still much higher than before the pandemic. Food prices have risen by 6.7 percent in the past year.
Prices for fruit and vegetables rose by 1.3 percent in May, after a fall of 0.5 percent in April. The index for meat, poultry, fish and eggs fell by 1.2 percent in May, after a fall of 0.3 percent in April.
The price of eggs fell 13.8 percent, the largest drop in that index since January 1951. That came after egg prices fell 1.5 percent in April and 10.9 percent in March. Egg prices had risen sharply a few months ago after an outbreak of bird flu and the cost of fuel, feed and packaging rose.
Food prices started to rise sharply about two years ago as labor, transportation and raw material costs rose, partly due to supply chain rumbles and higher fuel prices. As a result, companies passed on some cost increases to consumers. Other factors, such as extreme droughts in the western United States, have also squeezed supply and pushed up food prices.
While costs for some food ingredients and other commodities have fallen in recent months, some major companies, such as PepsiCo, have indicated that they will continue to raise or keep prices high for the foreseeable future as consumers largely continue to buy products.
Still, economists say overall food prices may show signs of moderation as labor pressures ease and wage growth slows across the food industry, easing stress for businesses. Recent drops in fuel prices have also helped lower transportation costs.
Biden administration officials to have stressed the recent slowdown in grocery price hikes, though they said “the job is not done yet and there is significant uncertainty about the outlook.”
Some customers are starting to notice some relief in the supermarket, but they continue to grumble about the high food prices.
Hanna Hensley, 29, a high school assistant teacher who was shopping Sunday at a Giant Food store in Arlington, Virginia, said she was frustrated with the high cost of food, which put more strain on her budget. She said weekly groceries for her family, including her parents and sister, now total about $100, compared to about $70 before the pandemic.
However, she said she was happy to see prices drop for some items. When egg prices skyrocketed to about $5 a box a few months ago, she stopped buying them. But she said a dozen eggs now cost her about $2.50, and on Sunday she picked up a box of them, along with oatmeal, tomatoes, mushrooms, and sliced marble cake.
Ms. Hensley said she had noticed that the overall cost of food had not risen as much as it had a few months ago, and she hoped that prices would fall or at least remain stable.
“Budgeting is hard when prices are constantly changing,” she said.