Egg prices continued their upward climb in February despite some easing in overall inflation, further straining consumers seeking relief from rising prices in the grocery aisles.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released on Wednesday showed that egg prices rose 10.4 percent from the previous month, to nearly $5.90 for a dozen large Grade A eggs, as an outbreak of avian influenza continued to contribute to a nationwide shortage. That is slightly lower than the 15 percent-plus surge in January, the largest monthly increase in egg prices in a decade. But since last year, egg prices are up nearly 60 percent.
Food prices more broadly rose 0.2 percent in February, or 2.8 percent compared with the same time last year.
Eggs have driven overall increases in grocery prices in recent months. During the presidential campaign last fall, President Trump blamed the Biden administration for inflation and vowed to bring down prices. But the steep rise in consumer staples, including eggs, has complicated that promise as his tariff policies stoke further concern about inflation.
Producers have blamed the spread of avian flu, which has forced them to cull millions of hens, for tighter supplies and high prices. United Egg Producers, the industry’s trade association, has noted that in 2024, the industry lost more than 40 million egg-laying hens to the virus, while in just the first two months of this year, 31 million were killed.
The Justice Department is in the early stages of an antitrust investigation of major egg producers in the United States after advocacy groups and lawmakers called for regulators to investigate the industry’s pricing practices. Cal-Maine Foods, which is publicly traded and controls about a fifth of the market, reported an 82 percent jump in revenue for the quarter that ended in late November.
The Agriculture Department said in February that it was looking into importing more eggs and increasing funding for efforts to combat the spread of avian flu.
