Bird flu is causing an egg-istential crisis

State of play: Prices are climbing to new record highs daily, Karyn Rispoli, Expana's managing editor for eggs in the Americas, tells Axios.

• In California, prices have reached $8.97, a 70% increase since December, per the USDA's egg markets report.

What they're saying: Brian Moscogiuri, a global trade strategist at Eggs Unlimited, an egg supplier based in Irvine, told Axios that the "transactional values of eggs are as high as we've ever seen them."

• "Some of the retailers are short because their suppliers have been directly impacted and their replacement cost is extremely high right now because there's not much egg to be had in the market," he said.

Zoom in: At local grocery stores this week, the cheapest prices for a dozen large eggs were $3.49 at Trader Joe's, $7.42 at Walmart, $7.49 at Vons and $8.99 at Ralph's. Organic or cage-free cost up to $12.

• Yes, but: That's if there were any in stock, and multiple stores limited customers to buying two cartons due to high demand.

• Context: The same eggs at Vons cost $6.24 in December and $3.94 in November.

The bottom line: Eggs are considered safe to eat but don't expect them to get cheaper until bird flu is under control.

Go deeper: The industry and federal government are trying to work together stop the spread.