Egg costs are falling after 5 months of worth hikes

Egg costs are tumbling after 5 months of worth hikes that drove some customers to smuggle cheaper eggs from Mexico.

Costs fell 6.7% in February, in response to Client Value Index information launched Tuesday. That comes after egg costs jumped every month beginning in October, pushing the common worth of a dozen Grade A eggs from $2.90 in September to $4.82 in January, in response to figures from the Federal Reserve Financial institution of St. Louis. 

With February’s worth drop, the price of a dozen eggs declined to $4.21.

Though costs are easing, consumers are nonetheless paying 55% extra for a dozen eggs than they did a 12 months earlier, partly resulting from an avian flu epidemic. Tens of hundreds of thousands of egg-laying hens have been slaughtered in what has change into the deadliest chicken flu outbreak in U.S. historical past, which has restricted egg provides and pushed costs greater.

With eggs nonetheless comparatively pricey, Greenback Tree has halted egg gross sales in its Greenback Tree shops, with the chain not anticipating to deliver again the meals merchandise till this fall, in accordance to Reuters. 

That call comes forward of the spring holidays of Easter and Passover, when customers have a tendency to purchase extra eggs. However grocers are cautious about Easter demand this 12 months due to considerations that still-high costs may dampen demand, in response to a U.S. Division of Agriculture evaluation of egg costs. 

In the meantime, grocery shops aren’t discounting eggs as a result of they “are content material to maintain eggs on the shelf shifting via regular attrition,” the USDA evaluation discovered.

The avian flu outbreak has contaminated greater than 58.5 million birds throughout 791 flocks in 14 states as of Tuesday, in response to USDA information. As a result of contaminated birds should be slaughtered, the outbreak has been a significant component in greater egg costs.

It is not solely egg costs which can be hitting pocketbooks. Rising meals prices have continued to crimp family budgets in current months. Grocery costs jumped by an annual charge of 10.2% in February, with prices for gadgets starting from frozen vegetables and fruit to ham climbing final month, the CPI information exhibits.