After months of price hikes, egg prices are finally starting to come back to earth.
Egg prices fell 6.7% in February, according to new Consumer Price Index (CPI) data.
In October, the average price of a dozen Grade A eggs were $2.90 and subsequently increased every month until it reached a record high of $4.82 in January, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Prices now sit at $4.21 per Grade A dozen. While the price is finally cooling, it is still 55% higher than a year prior as the avian flu epidemic has played a role in higher egg prices that forced some consumers to smuggle their eggs from Mexico, according to CBS News.
The avian flu epidemic is the deadliest bird flu outbreak in U.S. history, which has weighed on egg supplies, as tens of millions of egg-laying hens have been killed, per CBS News.
U.S. Department of Agriculture data stated nearly 58.62 million birds in 47 states on confirmed infected premises have been affected and ultimately slaughtered.
Reuters reported that eggs have become too expensive for discount-retailer Dollar Tree, which has halted egg sales through next fall.
Eggs are a staple item among upcoming holidays, Easter and Passover, but demand could be lower this year due to higher prices, according to the USDA.
“Marketers are eyeing Easter demand cautiously this year over concerns about the impact of current price levels on holiday demand patterns. Grocery retailers continue to limit their shell egg featuring activity as most are content to keep eggs on the shelf moving through normal attrition,” the USDA’s Egg Markets Overview report said.
A commercial avian flu outbreak has not occurred since December, leading one analyst to believe that record egg prices are over.
“Do we expect crazy, record pricing again? No,” Brian Moscogiuri, a global trade strategist at a national supplier called Eggs Unlimited, told CNBC.
While eggs are one of the food items that have seen some of the most significant price increases, grocery prices were up 10.2% in the past 12 months, according to CPI data.
Some chickens can reach maturity in as little as 7 weeks. But, of course, they’ll never bring the price down to what it was before.
Sad that no one is going to get fined for price gouging as a result of these high food prices. The farmers and ranchers are not charging 50-60 percent more than they did a year ago.
It’s the American way, get over anytime there is a is some sort of problem or shortage.