WASHINGTON — The average price paid for white pan bread declined 2.1c per lb in March, while the price for whole wheat bread rose 1.1c per lb, 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 126.1c, down 2.1c per lb from February and down 4.8c from March 2018. On a month-to-month basis, the average price for white pan bread in March increased in two regions — up 3c in the West and up 1.4c in the South — and decreased in two regions — down 6.5c in the Midwest and down 6.2c in the Northeast.
At 196.2c per lb, the national average price for whole wheat bread was up 1.1c per lb from February but down 7.7c per lb from March 2018.
The national average price of family flour in March was 44.5c per lb, up 0.2c from February but down 2.3c from March 2018.
The national average price for spaghetti and macaroni in March was 123.7c per lb, up 3.1c from February and up 5c from March 2018. Chocolate chip cookies were 331.1c per lb, down 20.5c from February and down 26.8c from March 2018. The national average price of white long-grain rice was 75.7c per lb, down 0.5c from February but up 7.5c from March 2018.