Inflation ticks higher for groceries
by Tom Karst
U.S. retail grocery prices increased 0.8% in May and are running nearly 5% above a year ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.Worldwide, the UN's FAO has been showing the opposite trend so we will pay attention to the next FAO report to see if that trend has reversed:
The USDA’s June Food Price report said retail grocery prices were increasing faster than prices for food sold at restaurants.
Prices for food sold at restaurants increased by 0.4% from April to May, and stood 2.9% higher than May 2019. For food sold at grocery stores, prices jumped 0.8% from April to May. Compared with a year ago, retail grocery prices in May were 4.8% higher than a year ago.
For all of 2020, the USDA now predicts that retail grocery prices will increase 2.5% to 3.5%. Restaurant food prices are projected to increase in a range from 1.5% and 2.5% in 2020, according to the agency....MORE
UN FAO Food Price Index Drops to a Seventeen-month Low
