atlaw4u
09-12-2008, 09:33 AM
Consumers hoping for easing of supercharged inflation likely won’t see it. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26316365/)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Gas_prices_reduce_demand.jpgmsnbc - August 20, 2008
NEW YORK - As prices for crude oil and other commodities ease, Americans have gotten a small dose of relief at the gas pump. But don't expect less pain at the grocery counter.
Food inflation is to stay — and will probably get worse for some things.
That's because retail prices for cereal, eggs, cheese and meat generally lag by several months or longer world prices for wheat, corn and soybeans — the raw ingredients of so much of our food. Some food items may come down modestly as commodities prices cool off; others might not budge a cent and some may actually increase.
"Food prices tend to go up pretty quickly and they tend to stick on the way down," said Jim Sartwelle, an economist with the American Farm Bureau, which tracks retail food prices on a quarterly basis.
That's bad news for U.S. consumers still struggling with high costs for fuel and household goods, and worse for people in impoverished countries like Haiti and Senegal, where violent food riots broke out earlier this year as world food prices peaked…http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26316365/
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Gas_prices_reduce_demand.jpgmsnbc - August 20, 2008
NEW YORK - As prices for crude oil and other commodities ease, Americans have gotten a small dose of relief at the gas pump. But don't expect less pain at the grocery counter.
Food inflation is to stay — and will probably get worse for some things.
That's because retail prices for cereal, eggs, cheese and meat generally lag by several months or longer world prices for wheat, corn and soybeans — the raw ingredients of so much of our food. Some food items may come down modestly as commodities prices cool off; others might not budge a cent and some may actually increase.
"Food prices tend to go up pretty quickly and they tend to stick on the way down," said Jim Sartwelle, an economist with the American Farm Bureau, which tracks retail food prices on a quarterly basis.
That's bad news for U.S. consumers still struggling with high costs for fuel and household goods, and worse for people in impoverished countries like Haiti and Senegal, where violent food riots broke out earlier this year as world food prices peaked…http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26316365/