By Danielle Wiener-Bronner, CNN BusinessInflation may be slowing overall, but food prices are still sky-high. Over the last 12 months, grocery prices soared 13.1% — the largest annual increase since the year ending in March 1979, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday. Demand for groceries growsUnlike discretionary items, consumers can’t simply stop buying food when prices rise. Plus, food prices are largely unaffected by current government efforts to curtail spiraling costs. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged as much during a Senate Banking Committee hearing in June, saying that raising interest rates to fight inflation wouldn’t lower food prices.

Source: CNN August 10, 2022 14:10 UTC