WASHINGTON — A month after both categories sustained declines, the average price paid for white pan bread and whole wheat bread rose 0.6c per lb and 2.7c per lb, respectively, in July, 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 139.1c, according to the B.L.S. The July price for white pan bread increased 0.7c compared with July 2008. On a month-to-month basis, the average price for white pan bread rose in two regions — up 3.7c in the South and up 1.6c in the Midwest — and fell in two, easing 4.2c in the Northeast and 2.6c in the West.
At 187.5c per lb, the national average price for whole wheat bread ended five consecutive months of declines. The average price was down 5.8c per lb from July 2008.
The national average price of family flour in July was 51.9c per lb, up 0.3c from June but down 2.5c from July 2008.
The national average price for spaghetti and macaroni in July was 119.8c per lb, up 2c from June and up 5c from July 2008. Chocolate chip cookies were 312c per lb, down 12.8c from June but up 12.7c from July 2008.