Food Prices Climb 0.4% in January: CPI Report

The food index went up 0.4% in January, up from December’s 0.2% increase. This news comes from the latest CPI report. 

Food at home

The food at home index also increased 0.4% during January. Four of the six major grocery store food group indexes showed increases during this time. The nonalcoholic beverages index had the largest increase at 1.2%. This was followed by the index for other food at home, which rose 0.6%. 

Price changes for the other major grocery store groups included:

• Fruits and vegetables: +0.4% (-0.1% in December)
• Dairy and related products: +0.2% (+0.3% in December)
• Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs: unchanged (+0.5% in December)
• Cereals and bakery products: -0.2% (-0.3% in December)

The food at home index rose 1.2% during the past 12 months. The largest increase was seen with the nonalcoholic beverages index, which increased 3.4% during this time. Dairy and related products saw the largest decline at -1.1%.

Food away from home

The food away from home index rose 0.5% in January after rising 0.3% in December. The index for full service meals rose 0.4%, and the index for limited service meals went up 0.6%. These indexes rose 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively, the previous month.

The index for food away from home rose 5.1% in the last 12 months. The index for limited service meals went up 5.8% during this time, and the index for full service meals increased 4.3%.