By Howard Schneider, Washington Post Staff Writer
Rising global grain prices helped spark the largest increase in monthly food costs in nearly 20 years, as consumers paid more in April for cereals, baked goods, and the dairy, meat and other animal products that rely on feedstocks, the government reported today.
Food prices have risen 6.1 percent in the past three months on a seasonally adjusted annual basis. The one-month rise between March and April of 0.9 percent was the biggest since January 1990, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The rise in prices covered all categories of food but was most severe among such staple goods as grains and oils — goods where inflation has touched off food riots in some less developed countries and led to concerns about supply shortages.
The costs of cereal and bakery products increased 1.4 percent from March to April and have risen nearly 20 percent in the past three months on a seasonally adjusted basis. Prices for fats and oils jumped more than 5 percent in April, on a seasonally adjusted annual basis, and have increased more than 26 percent in the past three months. Prices for sugars and sweets increased more than 10 percent during that same period.
Along with food, rising gas prices have caused concern that consumers will have to shift their dollars toward staples and spend less elsewhere.
Excluding the seasonal adjustment, gas prices rose about 4.2 percent over the month. More…

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