About food and energy indicators
Food and energy are the prices households see every week, and the ones that most shape how people feel about inflation. Energy starts with crude oil, priced here as the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate, which sets the price of gasoline and diesel at the pump. Natural gas at the Henry Hub heats homes and fuels power plants, and flows into what households pay for electricity.
On the grocery side, the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes average prices for common items. We chart four staples with very different stories: eggs, which swing with bird flu outbreaks; ground beef, which follows the slow cattle cycle; coffee, which depends on harvests abroad; and bread, whose price rises steadily with wages and energy. All prices are in current dollars.
Quick reading tips
- Pump prices trail crude oil by two to four weeks.
- Grocery prices rarely fall back; they usually just rise more slowly.
- Prices are not adjusted for inflation.