Food Prices

Madeline

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Apr 20, 2010
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Cleveland. Feel mah pain.
Okay, so I am no economic genius, but I go grocery like anyone else. The price of food has been extremely unstable here, but has mostly been going up. E.g., ground round went from $2.29 lb last week on sale to $3.39 lb this week, with ground sirloin at $5.49 lb. Similar things have been happening with bread, milk, eggs and cereal.....semi-reasonable sale prices coupled with VERY high "normal" prices.

So I have a few questions.

WTF is going on? I thought we had "almost no inflation"? I might not have all these prices memorized, but I know cereal's normal price has doubled in a year....and for sure, all the rest are up steeply.

Has there been some sort of agricultural warfare I haven't heard about? Why's this price increase affecting the basics, but evidentially not such things as cheese, yogurt, or ice cream?

WTF pays $5.49 for ground sirloin? I'm not sure I'd pay that much for a decent lamb chop.
 
Food and energy costs isn't counted in the inflation formula anymore...go figure, I guess it didn't fit in with either sides talking points, it was changed;I think; after the Carter years.
 
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Something funny is happening, I swear it. Gasoline prices are stable...they've been below $2.50 gal for over a year. But for some reason, natural gas prices around here are exploding. I strongly suspect illegal price gouging.

How can they say "we have almost no inflation" if food and heating cost twice what they did, or more? They don't consider food or energy in indexing inflation? Seriously?

WTF?????
 
Not illegal price gouging. Just people exercising their right to speculate that you will pay more for natural gas this winter.
Another positive sign for economic recovery.
 
I haven't really noticed it and the food CPI has seen some inflation but if you're seeing things jumping around by 50% from week to week, that's a bit out of the ordinary.

Here's what they have to say about meat:

Beef prices decreased 0.2 percent in July but are 6.7 percent above last July, with steak prices up 4.2 percent and ground beef prices up 8.2 percent. Pork prices increased 1.6 percent in July and are 6 percent above last July’s level, while poultry prices increased 0.6 percent in July and are 1 percent above prices last year at this time. For most of 2009, retail meat prices were lower than the previous year due to weak demand stemming from the global recession. However, as the overall economy began to recover from the recession, beef and pork commodity prices rose, and retail meat prices are now higher than in 2009. Increased inflation for most meat products in 2010 is a strong possibility, as reflected in ERS's updated pork price forecast for an overall increase of 3 to 4 percent for 2010.
 
Something funny is happening, I swear it. Gasoline prices are stable...they've been below $2.50 gal for over a year. But for some reason, natural gas prices around here are exploding. I strongly suspect illegal price gouging.

How can they say "we have almost no inflation" if food and heating cost twice what they did, or more? They don't consider food or energy in indexing inflation? Seriously?

WTF?????

You're lucky your gas prices are stable, ours are going nuts.

Wednesday on my way to work all of the stations were $2.54. On the way home, they went to $2.79. This after crude prices dropped almost $3.00 per barrel on Tuesday.

They gave us a little break on Friday, dropping to $2.77.

Yesterday, they all went to $2.64.

Sure looks like holiday price gouging to me.
 
Something funny is happening, I swear it. Gasoline prices are stable...they've been below $2.50 gal for over a year. But for some reason, natural gas prices around here are exploding. I strongly suspect illegal price gouging.

How can they say "we have almost no inflation" if food and heating cost twice what they did, or more? They don't consider food or energy in indexing inflation? Seriously?

WTF?????

gas-1.gif


Given the highly negative outlook for gas pricing at the present time, it is not surprising that it will likely be the winter of 2012-13 before natural gas futures prices approach the $6/Mcf level as reflected by the current futures prices.

Here's a link to a commentary on natural gas prices and pricing.

RIGZONE - Musings: The Gas Bulls of Summer Turn into Bears
 
Something funny is happening, I swear it. Gasoline prices are stable...they've been below $2.50 gal for over a year. But for some reason, natural gas prices around here are exploding. I strongly suspect illegal price gouging.

How can they say "we have almost no inflation" if food and heating cost twice what they did, or more? They don't consider food or energy in indexing inflation? Seriously?

WTF?????

Corn prices have a direct bearing on the meat market because the price of feed is the big cost in raising animals for market. The corn crop looked like it would have record year but because of bad weather in some sections of the country it isn’t going to be that big. The Euro-Asian countries (big corn producers) have a big drought problem and that is going to cause a shortage problem for the world as a whole. Not only that but a lot of the American corn crop is destined for the ethanol plants. Did you know the ethanol plants here where I am located (Indiana) are paying 20 to 30 cents more a bushel for corn than the regular crop elevators. It is no wonder corn prices are so high right now, a 2 year high.

So the corn price may be the cause of your meat being so high and it may go higher!

On the western side of Indiana the gas prices have fluctuated from a high of $2.92 to a low of $2.38 this year. Every 2 weeks it jumps 20 or 30 cents and then decreases 2 or 3 cents every couple of days or so. No rhyme or reason to it.


.
 
Then WTF is happening in Cleveland, Mr. H?

Mebbe if DOJ weren't so obsessed with Arizona, it could fire up a price fixing case once in awhile. Fuckers.


Natural gas price war breaking out in Ohio | cleveland.com

Natural gas prices rising at Columbia Gas and Dominion East Ohio | cleveland.com

The first link appears to explain why you were sold a bill of goods, so to speak. You don't have to enroll in a purchase contract if you don't want to.

The second link explains (quite factually) why gas prices are what they are. Nothing to bark about there.

Natural gas is relatively cheap. Getting it to your house is another matter. If you want your own personal supply, go drill a well.
 
Corn can play a huge factor....which is why biofuel that utilizes corn is a really, really bad idea.
 
Then WTF is happening in Cleveland, Mr. H?

Mebbe if DOJ weren't so obsessed with Arizona, it could fire up a price fixing case once in awhile. Fuckers.


Natural gas price war breaking out in Ohio | cleveland.com

Natural gas prices rising at Columbia Gas and Dominion East Ohio | cleveland.com

As a consumer you are at the mercy of the company that is suppying you with nat gas. If there is a price war breaking out in Ohio then that is a good thing for you as prices will be low. Nat gas prices did increase in the NE because of the hot weather and transmission problems with Canadian electricity. Whether that includes Cleveland I do not know.

On the CPI, just because you see an increase in consumer goods in Cleveland does not necassarily mean the CPI is up. Another part of the country may be experiencing a decrease in the CPI. The national CPI is a an average of the country. I am sure vegtables and fuit are lower in Cali than here because of transportation costs and meat may be higher there than here because we have the meat processors here.
 
Then WTF is happening in Cleveland, Mr. H?

Mebbe if DOJ weren't so obsessed with Arizona, it could fire up a price fixing case once in awhile. Fuckers.


Natural gas price war breaking out in Ohio | cleveland.com

Natural gas prices rising at Columbia Gas and Dominion East Ohio | cleveland.com

The first link appears to explain why you were sold a bill of goods, so to speak. You don't have to enroll in a purchase contract if you don't want to.

The second link explains (quite factually) why gas prices are what they are. Nothing to bark about there.

Natural gas is relatively cheap. Getting it to your house is another matter. If you want your own personal supply, go drill a well.

Apparently in Ohio, I could.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/07/ohio_laws_governing_gas_drilli.html

Look, I freely admit I know nothing about commodities. I can never tell if I am getting screwed...but someone smarter than I could. I just have that uncomfy he-didn't-call-the-next-day feeling, yanno?

I very strongly suspect I am getting screwed.
 
Then WTF is happening in Cleveland, Mr. H?

Mebbe if DOJ weren't so obsessed with Arizona, it could fire up a price fixing case once in awhile. Fuckers.


Natural gas price war breaking out in Ohio | cleveland.com

Natural gas prices rising at Columbia Gas and Dominion East Ohio | cleveland.com

As a consumer you are at the mercy of the company that is suppying you with nat gas. If there is a price war breaking out in Ohio then that is a good thing for you as prices will be low. Nat gas prices did increase in the NE because of the hot weather and transmission problems with Canadian electricity. Whether that includes Cleveland I do not know.

On the CPI, just because you see an increase in consumer goods in Cleveland does not necassarily mean the CPI is up. Another part of the country may be experiencing a decrease in the CPI. The national CPI is a an average of the country. I am sure vegtables and fuit are lower in Cali than here because of transportation costs and meat may be higher there than here because we have the meat processors here.

Actually, produce prices are fairly low here, except for bananas. Apparently bananas contain gold these days...they haven't been below 49 cent lb in over a year. I can't understand it. T'aint as if nectarines are grown in Ohio.
 
Then WTF is happening in Cleveland, Mr. H?

Mebbe if DOJ weren't so obsessed with Arizona, it could fire up a price fixing case once in awhile. Fuckers.


Natural gas price war breaking out in Ohio | cleveland.com

Natural gas prices rising at Columbia Gas and Dominion East Ohio | cleveland.com

The first link appears to explain why you were sold a bill of goods, so to speak. You don't have to enroll in a purchase contract if you don't want to.

The second link explains (quite factually) why gas prices are what they are. Nothing to bark about there.

Natural gas is relatively cheap. Getting it to your house is another matter. If you want your own personal supply, go drill a well.

Apparently in Ohio, I could.

Ohio laws governing gas drilling among most lenient in nation, experts say | cleveland.com

Look, I freely admit I know nothing about commodities. I can never tell if I am getting screwed...but someone smarter than I could. I just have that uncomfy he-didn't-call-the-next-day feeling, yanno?

I very strongly suspect I am getting screwed.

Do you ever recall a time when you turned on your furnace or gas stove and discovered oops- where's the natural gas?

Be glad there are people out there punching holes in the ground in this country.
 

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