EconomicPolicyJournal.com is reporting inflation now hitting turkey:
In the week ending last Friday, an 8 to 16 pound hen sold at wholesale for about $1.19 a pound and a 16 to 24 pound tom sold for about $1.17 a pound. Both price are sharply higher than the $1.03 average for hens and $1.04 average for toms in 2013. Last week. the price for fresh turkey was $1.44 a pound according to the USDA.
Bloomberg is out with a write up showing McDonald’s is facing rising costs which means prices have had to be raised. McDonald’s is a good inflation watch company since millions of people visit it everyday.
While the company still offers several items for $1, its menu is quietly getting more expensive. McDonald’s said its prices were up about 3 percent through the end of June compared with 12 months earlier. That’s more than the 2.5 percent gain in prices for food Americans purchased away from their homes in the year through August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Prices being raised across the country are not done yet.
U.S. restaurants plan to boost prices 2 percent during the next six months, more than the 1.7 percent average increase from the prior 12 months, according to an October survey by restaurant researcher MillerPulse in Atlanta.
This follows the trend repeated often on this blog. Costs of goods are rising, yet many so called “experts” are saying inflation is tamed or barely nudging up. My most recent post, Consumer Price Index Shows Inflation on Many Items shows beef is up double digits. Do not think McDonald’s is the only restaurant in the burger chain feeling it. In September I showed Five Guys Burgers are also raising prices (Inflation Hits Five Guys Burgers)
Consumer Price Index numbers were released Wednesday. Buried in the report were serious rises in year to date price increases. Here is list of price increases in the last 12 months:
Milk 8.7%
U.S. meat 13% (beef and veal prices up 18% and pork prices up 11.4%)
Butter 24%
Clothing 3.7%
Women’s Outerwear 11%
Children’s Footwear 7.8%
Prescription Drugs 3.8%
Lodging Away From Home 5%
Here is the complete article showing prices increases and decreases.
Here is some economic news I’ve picked up over several days pertaining to the stock market and prices on goods around the country.
About 47 percent of stocks in the Nasdaq Composite Index are down at least 20 percent from their peak in the last 12 months while more than 40 percent have fallen that much in the Russell 2000 Index and the Bloomberg IPO Index.
Here is a breakdown of Producer Prices
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that for the 12 months through August, producer prices increased 1.8 percent after rising 1.7 percent in July.
Prices for services related to securities brokerage and dealing fell 4.5 percent in August.
Gasoline index fell 1.4 percent.
Prices for utility natural gas, chicken eggs, diesel fuel, electric power, and raw cotton also moved lower.
The index for potatoes surged 28.0 percent.
Prices for pharmaceutical preparations and jet fuel also advanced.
Consumer Price Index showed decreases and increases as well. I highlighted the bigger jump in food prices jumping with inflation.
Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 1.7 percent. The energy index fell 2.6 percent, with the gasoline index declining 4.1 percent and the indexes for natural gas
and fuel oil also decreasing.Food index rose 0.2 percent in August after increasing 0.4 percent in July. The food at home index was also up 0.2 percent. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs rose 1.5 percent in August, the largest increase among the groups. The index for beef and veal rose 4.2 percent, its largest increase since November 2003. The index
for dairy and related products rose 0.6 percent, and the cereals and bakery products index advanced 0.2 percent.Over the last 12 months, the food at home index has risen 2.9 percent, with the index for meats, poultry, fish and eggs up 8.8 percent.
And finally, picked up an explanation on gas prices stabilizing or decreasing here lately.
The fall in the gasoline index can best be understood in terms of the increased oil productivity in the U.S. OPEC production continues to hover between 36mbd and 38mbd. BUT, non-OPEC output rose to a record 54.8mbd during July. Contributing to that record high is US oil field production, which is soaring and reached almost 9.0mbd in early September. The US is now exporting 3.7mbd of crude oil and petroleum products.
Hat Tip many sources
Obtained some pricing from a person involved with livestock being brought in and sold at a stockyard in eastern Indiana.
Last week top grade cattle were getting $1.50/lb when brought in for sale. Just six years ago same person said going price was around .50/lb.
Stocking up on meat this winter would not be a bad idea.
Inflation is being reported amongst the bigger food chains this past month. This will ultimately lead to higher costs for the consumer.
CNBC reported in Mid August:
“Food retailers like Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Noodles & Company are sounding the alarm on inflationary pressures, raising the question: Is this the start to higher food prices for consumers?
“Official data show inflation only gradually rising for the economy as a whole with the personal consumption index gaining 1.6 percent in June; however, a dozen food companies in the past few weeks have warned steeper price hikes hurt results last quarter.
Prices are rising for several restaurant staples like beef, seafood and cheese. But costs aren’t up everywhere: Grain and vegetable prices, for example, have been declining.
“This morning Red Robin said lower margins, which fell 1.3 percent from the same period a year ago, were mainly due to higher food and beverage costs.
“Noodles & Company, which reported last night, posted a two percent drop in margins due to increased costs. During the company’s conference call, CFO Dave Boennighausen said the cost of goods sold rose 70 basis points last quarter as a result of modestly higher pork, dairy and shrimp ingredient costs, as well as more promotional activity.
“Wholesale food inflation rose 4.2 percent in the first six months of the year, its steepest rise since 2011; however, menu and grocery prices – what consumers are paying – were only up 2.2 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively, in the same period, according to the National Restaurant Association.”
These are striking numbers considering the purchasing power(Economies of Scale) these chains have compared too smaller food retailers. The smaller ones which most refer to as “Mom & Pop” will not be able to keep up as inflation keeps increasing. The consumer is still feeling squeezed on normal groceries going up in price. Eating out is a very easily controlled expense to decrease.
The beef market supply is still low from the 2012 drought and supply numbers are still dipping which will only keep prices high for the foreseeble future. Here is the latest from the USDA.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, beef production came in at 2.09 billion lbs. That’s 9% down from last July. Slaughter totals are also trending down with 10% fewer cattle taken to the packer at 2.6 million head. However, live weights are moving up as feedlots and packers try to compensate for the loss of cattle. This July cattle averaged 1,320 lbs. when entering the processor, up 18 lbs. from last year. Overall red meat production was down 6% nationally. Only 3.91 billion lbs. of red meat was produced in this past month compared to 4.16 billion lbs. in July 2013.
From January to July of 2014 a similar drop off occurred with 3% less red meat produced at 27.4 billion lbs.
John Maxfield from theThe Motley Fool penned an article in the USA Today that shows an enticing graph of potentially the next big crash in the markets.
Austrians economic disciples have been screaming the last decade about the Federal Reserve’s printing or now digitizing of money to the banks through borrowing. On top of that, the federal government has needed massive amounts of money to fund welfare/social programs that are by law “mandatory”.
Maxfield and Austrians part ways with his explanation in the article. There really is no more denying inflation is happening. Pricing is exploding across many sectors.
Personally, I have followed the Feds printing and done well. But the money supply is drying up and a downturn is very real down the road
Per CNSNews.com
The price of beef and bacon hit its all-time high in the United States in June, according to data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
In January 1980, when BLS started tracking the price of these commodities, ground chuck cost $1.82 per pound and bacon cost $1.45 per pound. By this June 2014, ground chuck cost $3.91 per pound and bacon cost $6.11 per pound.A decade ago, in June 2004, a pound of ground chuck cost $2.49, which means that the commodity has increased by 57 percent since then. Bacon has increased by 78.7 percent from the $3.42 it cost in June 2004 to the $6.11 it costs now.
Hoosier Econ 