Egg Prices Finally Plummet Nearly 14%But Meat Frozen Fruit ClimbHeres How U.S. Grocery Bills Changed In May - Forbes

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The price for a dozen eggs plummeted nearly 14% in May, according to a new report published on Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics—its biggest monthly decrease in more than 70 years—as inflation fell to its lowest point in more than two years.

Key Facts

The average price for a dozen Grade-A eggs fell to $2.67 in May, more than $2 less than January’s record-high of $4.82, and 60 cents lower than the price in April, according to data from the Department of Labor.

The decline in egg prices, however, was not enough to stave off rising prices at the grocery store, which increased 0.1% from April to May after two months of narrow decreases, even as inflation slowed for an 11th straight month, from 4.9% to 4% from April to May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index.

Those increases included ground beef, which jumped 2% from $1.87 per pound to $1.92, as well as whole chicken, which increased 1.9% from $1.82 to $1.92.Fresh fruits and vegetables also increased 3% from April to May, including bananas (up 1.9%), potatoes (2.8%), lettuce (6.7%) and tomatoes (2%)—frozen fruits and vegetables also increased by an average of 4.5% over the same period.

Ham prices are also up per pound, to $4.40 per pound in May from $4.21 in April, though bacon prices declined from $6.55 to $6.34 per pound, and are down just over $1 from the same time last year.

Big Number

20 cents. That’s how much lower average egg prices in the U.S. were in May compared to a year ago, according to the CPI.

Key Background

Egg prices have been on a steady decline since February, when the price for a dozen grade-A eggs dropped roughly 6.7% over the month to 12%—the biggest monthly decline since 2020 and just the third month-over-month drop since the summer of 2021. That decline proved to be a much-needed reprieve for consumers, after egg prices skyrocketed amid stubbornly high inflation and as the avian flu decimated chicken populations, affecting nearly 50 million birds that either died directly or were killed due to exposure to infected chickens between early 2022 and last November, according to a report published in November by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Soaring egg prices during that time also kept U.S. egg producers thriving, with Cal-Maine Foods seeing a seven-fold year-over-year boost in profits in the fiscal quarter ending February 25.