In some of the most recent years, it was fairly easy to predict what food prices would do in the coming months; the level of inflation had been fairly low and pretty constant and now things are always different.
But as we've all learned the hard way, 2020 is not a typical year. USDA Economist, Carolyn Chelius, said grocery store food prices this year still expected to from 2.5% to 3.5% higher year-over-year, thanks to very sharp increases in April to May as well as a few hikes in June. On the plus side for consumers, Chelius noted the food supply chain is starting to normalize as the year continues.

"We're expecting food at home prices to start to retreat from the highest reach as a result of COVID-19," she noted.

Now there could be continued increases for some products, but Chelius expects that increase to flatten. And it looks like it's already starting to happen for products like beef. Those prices shot up in May by 11%;  in June they only went up by 5.5%.


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