Grocery prices fall for first time in a year as food inflation eased

Food prices fell across the board in April for the first time in 12 months, according to data released Wednesday by the Labor Department.

According to the Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), a closely watched inflation indicator, household food prices fell by 0.2% in April. It was the first time since April 2023 that household food prices had fallen, following months of plateauing.

Food prices have risen sharply for most of the past three years due to supply chain constraints and the impact of the war in Ukraine, but rose just 1.1% in the past 12 months.

Food price growth was much slower than the overall annual inflation rate of 3.4% in April and the Federal Reserve’s annual inflation target of 2%.

Americans still felt the squeeze in other areas as well.

The main drivers of consumer price increases in April were housing prices and gasoline prices, with the housing price and gasoline indexes accounting for more than 70% of the monthly increase.