Grocery prices remain stubbornly high

Grocery prices ticked up nationally in January after an apparent inflation respite in December, per the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data.

By the numbers: The cost of groceries rose 0.7% in January as compared to the prior month.

That comes after December prices rose only about 0.2% from November.

Why it matters: For many of the approximately 63% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck, rising food prices can be an especially difficult financial challenge.

Such prices, meanwhile, are particularly vulnerable to outside and difficult-to-control forces, such as climate change and geopolitical happenings.

Zoom in: Among the metro areas with newly published CPI data, some of the highest increases in grocery prices were reported in Denver (+2% between November 2022 and January 2023) and Washington, D.C. (+1.6%). (Data from these areas is published every other month.)