Grocery prices eased some in April, while dining out continued to increase

Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press
·2 min read

When it comes to sky-high grocery store prices, there are a few morsels of good news for a change.

What consumers paid for groceries decreased slightly in April − 0.2% − after increasing in March, according to Consumer Price Index (CPI) monthly data released by the federal Labor Department Wednesday morning.

Prices declined in three of the six grocery store categories that are tracked.

Here's a sampling of what foods increased and decreased in April:

Foods that decreased

  • Meat, poultry, fish, and eggs decreased nearly 1%.

  • Eggs cost less, declining 7.3% in April.

  • Poultry is down 0.6%

  • Fruits and vegetables declined 0.8%.

  • Nonalcoholic beverages fell 0.2%.

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Foods that increased

  • Cereals and bakery goods rose 0.6% after decreasing in March.

  • Dairy and related products increased 0.1%.

  • Ice cream and related products were up 3.3%.

  • Other food at home, such as sugar, candy, gum, fats, and salad dressing, increased by 0.1%.

  • Butter rose 4.3% in April and is up 3.5% from the same time last year.

Dining out

There was no relief in what consumers pay for food outside of the home, which includes dining out at restaurants. Costs rose 0.3% in April, the same increase as in March. For the last 12 months, the cost of food away from home rose 4.1%.Month over month, overall consumer costs for goods and services, from gasoline to rent to cars and trucks, increased 0.3% compared to 0.4% in March.

According to Wednesday's report, the cost of housing and gasoline contributed more than 70% of the increase.For the last 12 months, overall prices increased 3.4% (before seasonal adjustment), which was in line with economist predictions, and marked a smaller increase than the 3.5% increase for the 12 months ending in March.

The CPI reflects changes in prices for certain goods and services by consumers. Spending patterns cover all urban consumers and urban wage earners and clerical workers in urban or metropolitan areas.

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Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. Subscribe to the Free Press.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Consumers paid less for eggs in April and more for ice cream