Grocery Inflation Rate Slows in July

Overall prices for food in U.S. supermarkets climbed by 4.6% in July, although the rate at which they increased moderated from June, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index (CPI).

The index showed year-over-year increases in all six major food-at-home categories—although four of the six categories decreased sequentially from June and one was unchanged, led by an 8.2% drop in the rate of beef inflation and a 3.8% slowing in the larger category of meats, poultry, fish and eggs. Many of the items in those categories experienced sharp increases in recent months due to COVID-related supply chain disruptions. On a year-over-year basis, prices in the meat category are up by 8.4% from last July.

A return among some grocers to a more normalized promotion environment may have also contributed to the slowing rate of inflation.

In the CPI’s other major categories, cereals and bakery products were up by 2.8% year over year; dairy and related products increased 4.4%; fruits and vegetables increased by 2.3%; nonalcohol beverages were up by 5%; and other food at-home products were up by 3.9%. The “other” category was the only one of the six to increase sequentially from June; the fruits and vegetables category was unchanged.