Produce prices rising faster than other food

Today’s Consumer Price Index shows a monthly rise of 0.8 percent in April and 4.2 percent year over year.

Food rose 0.4 percent in April, but fruits and vegetables were up 0.8 percent, led by fresh fruits’ increase of 1.5 percent in the month.

From April 2021 to April 2020, food rose 3.3 percent, with fruits and vegetables up 3.3 percent. Fresh fruit was up 6.2 percent year over year with fresh vegetables up 0.9 percent.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the Consumer Price Index (CPI) monthly. It measures the change in prices paid by consumers for goods and services. The CPI reflects spending patterns for each of two population groups: all urban consumers and urban wage earners and clerical workers.

Outside of the food world, the index for used cars and trucks rose 10.0 percent in April. This was the largest one-month increase since the series began in 1953, and it accounts for over a third of the seasonally adjusted all items increase.

The full report from the bureau can be read here.