The U.S. food inflation rate was 3.3 percent over the past 12 months, one-third of its peak in August 2022, said the Labor Department on Tuesday. The food inflation rate was down 0.4 points from the previous month’s annualized rate of 3.7 percent and down for the 14th month in a row.
Over the past year, dairy prices decreased by 0.4 percent, said the monthly Consumer Price Index report. The other five sub-indexes for food posted increases; the largest was 4.2 percent for cereals and bakery products and the smallest was 0.4 percent for meat, poultry, fish, and eggs. Most of the increase in food inflation was tied to restaurant and carry-out meals, up by 5.4 percent over the 12 months ending in October, while grocery prices rose by 2.1 percent.
The U.S. inflation rate was 3.2 percent for the past 12 months, down from the previous month’s 3.7 percent. The so-called core inflation rate, which excludes food and energy, rose by 4 percent in the past year, its smallest increase since September 2021, said the government.