WASHINGTON — The average price paid for white pan bread decreased while the price for whole wheat bread increased in January, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor.
The national average retail price of white pan bread was 142.2c, down 1.4c per lb from December and down 0.1c from January 2012. The decrease followed an increase of 1.8c per lb in December. On a month-to-month basis, the average price for white pan bread in January fell in all four regions — down 3.4c in the Northeast, down 1.7c in the West, down 0.8c in the Midwest and down 0.5c in the South.
At 207.8c per lb, the national average price for whole wheat bread was up 15.3c per lb from December and up 9.4c per lb from January 2012. It was the highest average price for whole wheat bread since November 2011, when it was 209.3c per lb.
The national average price of family flour in January was 52.4c per lb, up 2.4c from December but down 0.4c from January 2012.
The national average price for spaghetti and macaroni in January was 127.6c per lb, down 3.6c from December and down 4.1c from January 2012. Chocolate chip cookies were 372.8c per lb, up 11.1c from December and up 8.8c from January 2012. The national average price of white long-grain rice was 71.5c per lb, up 0.1c from December but down 2.4c from January 2012.
