Grocery prices saw another decline in the month of April, falling 0.2% month-over-month.
The sort-of-bad news: Year-over-year prices are still up 7.1%. That's according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) April Consumer Price Index (CPI) published Wednesday morning.
Still, these increases were far lower than the highs seen in August 2022, back when grocery prices were up 13.5% year-over-year.
"The deceleration has been pretty consistent and sort of steep over the last several months," BLS economist Steve Reed told Yahoo Finance. Last month, grocery prices were down 0.3% in March compared to February on a seasonally adjusted basis.
But don't get too excited yet. Reed said "it would take several monthly declines" to have a negative decline year-over-year.
Additionally, overall food inflation remains higher — rising 7.7% year-over-year in April. Prices for food were flat month-over-month. Food away from home, such as at restaurants and bars, saw prices rise 8.6% year-over-year in April and up 0.4% month-over-month seasonally adjusted.
Here's what led the downward trend, on a month-over-month basis: Milk (-2.0%); fresh fruits (-0.5%) driven by citrus fruits (-2.7%), frankfurters (-2.9%), pork (-1.2%) driven lower by bacon (-2.2%), fish and seafood (-0.7%) — shelf-stable fish and seafood saw a 1.7% decline — and nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (-0.1%), reflecting a 1% decline in frozen noncarbonated juices and drinks.
Coffee also saw a 1.4% decline month-over-month.
Eggs, an item that has been closely watched so far this year, saw a 1.5% monthly decline, but prices are still 21.4% higher than last year.
Kevin Bergquist of Wells Fargo added: "Egg prices are usually seasonal, and the summer months generally see the lowest egg prices in any given year. But bear in mind that egg prices can be very volatile, so one could anticipate some reversal of the drop in price, particularly when consumers start to see lower egg prices at the checkout counter."
Some food prices, however, increased month-over-month: Lettuce (+3.5%), ham (+2.0%), beef and veal (+0.3%), reflecting higher prices for uncooked ground beef (up 0.6%) and uncooked beef roasts, which rose 1.5%.
Also: A 1.8% increase in carbonated drinks offset declines in the overall nonalcoholic beverage category; baby food and formula saw spikes too, up 4.3% compared to the previous month.
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Brooke DiPalma is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at bdipalma@yahoofinance.com.
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