On July 15th The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the June Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis after falling 0.1 percent in May. For the past 12 months, the All Items Index increased 0.6 percent before seasonal adjustment.

Extracts from the Bureau of Labor statistics release were:-

“The All Items Index increased 0.6 percent for the 12 months ending June; this compares to a 0.1-percent increase for the 12 months ending May. The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.2 percent over the last 12 months. The food index increased 4.5 percent over the last 12 months, with the index for food at home rising 5.6 percent. Despite increasing in June, the energy index fell 12.6 percent over the last 12 months”.

“The Food Index increased 0.6 percent in June following a 0.7-percent increase in May. The food at home index rose 0.7 percent in June after increasing 1.0 percent in May. Five of the six major grocery store food group indexes rose in June. The index for meat, poultry, fish, and eggs increased 2.0 percent in June. This reflected another increase in the beef index that rose 4.8 percent in June and increased 20.4 percent over the last 3 months”.

“The index for nonalcoholic beverages increased in June, rising 0.7 percent. The indexes for cereals and bakery products and for fruits and vegetables both rose 0.4 percent. The index for other food at home rose 0.2 percent in June. The only major grocery store food group index to decline was dairy and related products, which fell 0.4 percent in June, its first decline since July 2019”.

“The index for food away from home rose 0.5 percent in June following a 0.4-percent increase in May. The index for full service meals increased 0.9 percent, its largest ever monthly increase. The index for limited service meals advanced 0.5 percent in June after rising 0.6 percent in May”.

“The food at home index increased 5.6 percent over the last 12 months, its largest 12-month increase since the period ending December 2011. All six major grocery store food group indexes rose over that span. The beef index increased 25.1 percent over the last 12 months, leading to a 12.8-percent increase in the index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs. The remaining groups rose more modestly, with increases ranging from 2.3 percent (fruits and vegetables) to 5.3 percent (nonalcoholic beverages). The index for food away from home rose 3.1 percent over the last year. The index for limited service meals increased 4.1 percent and the index for full service meals rose 2.7 percent over the last 12 months.”

The impact of COVID-19 on restricting beef supply is evident in the data and may will lead to a decline in per capita annual consumption to the benefit of poultry.