WASHINGTON (FNS) -- Supermarket food prices during the first six months of the year continued to mirror the rest of the economy by showing only moderate signs of inflation.
e Index. For June alone, supermarket food prices increased 0.2% against May, as all retail prices rose 0.1%.
Agriculture Department food economist Annette Clauson said food prices are in line with agency forecasts of supermarket prices increasing this year by 2.8%.
"We're not seeing much of any kind of inflation," Clauson said. Nevertheless, she said, certain foods are expected to fluctuate in price, citing beef as one case.
"Beef prices should start going up the last quarter of this year due to tighter supplies," she said.
Dairy products, which posted large increases last year, continue to decline. In June, dairy prices dropped 0.9% for the seventh consecutive monthly decline. However, compared with June 1996, dairy prices last month were up 3.1%.
