Beef prices were 12 percent higher than a year ago, helping to drive overall food prices upward, said the Labor Department on Tuesday. The monthly Consumer Price Index report said food prices were 3.7 percent higher but the U.S. inflation rate slowed slightly in August.
“The all items index rose 5.3 percent for the 12 months ending August, a smaller increase than the 5.4 percent rise for the period ending July,” said the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The “core” inflation rate, which disregards volatile commodities such as food and fuel, was up 4 percent over the past year, down from the 4.3 percent registered in the previous CPI report.
The 3.7-percent-a-year increase in food prices reported by the Labor Department was higher than the 3.4 percent rate seen in July. Among groceries, “the largest increase was the index for meats, poultry, fish and eggs, which increased 8 percent as the index for beef rose 12.2 percent over the past 12 months,” said the report. Grocery prices were 3-percent higher than a year ago while prices for “food away from home,” such as restaurant meals and carryout food, were up 4.7 percent in the past year.
Food accounts for nearly 14 cents of each $1 in consumer spending, second only to housing costs.