Grocery inflation highest since 2022 as Trump tariffs pile up
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Portlanders have likely had some sticker shock at the supermarket recently with virtually all major grocery categories more expensive than they were a year ago, some substantially so.
Driving the news: The food-at-home component of the Consumer Price Index rose 0.6% in August from July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said last week.
- This was the biggest month-over-month increase since August 2022, the tail end of a year of huge monthly increases in grocery prices.
The big picture: Trump has framed his tariffs on China, steel and other imports as a way to protect American workers and bring down costs.
- But those same trade barriers can raise input costs — from fertilizer to machinery to transportation — that ripple through food prices.
For the record: A White House official notes that the annualized pace of grocery inflation since Trump took office is 1.8%, a low figure that is less than the late Biden era.
- The August data, on its own, does not make a trend, the official adds.
Yes, but: Portlanders looking to pinch pennies at the supermarket are in luck — there's a whole newsletter dedicated to just that.