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Although overall inflation in the United States shows signs of moderation, food prices—especially for staples like coffee, beef, and eggs—continue to put pressure on consumers.
The report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS) for August 2025 shows that the overall food index rose by 0.5% that month.
In the case of the subindex Food at Home (groceries), the increase was greater, at 0.6% monthly. In the year-over-year period, this subindex shows a 2.7% increase compared to August 2024.
Among food items, the category of meats, poultry, fish, and eggs increased by 1.0% in August; within that group, beef saw a jump of 2.7% for that month. At the same time, the prices of fruits and vegetables rose by 1.6%, with tomatoes increasing by 4.5% during that month.
In the case of coffee, the year-on-year increase is striking: 20.9% according to the analysis by KPMG, with a monthly rise of 3.6% in August, its largest monthly increase since 2011.
Another source agrees that the price of roasted ground coffee reached $8.87 per pound in that month. Factors such as droughts in key producing countries (Brazil and Vietnam) and the imposition of a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports are cited as elements that exert upward pressure, according to analysts.
Regarding beef, outlets like The Guardian report that ground beef reached $6.32 per pound in August 2025, with an annual increase of approximately 13.9%.
Regarding eggs, although the overall index for meats and eggs rose by 1.0% in August, a separate figure specifically for eggs is not publicly available in the BLS bulletin.
Although inflation is not reaching the alarming levels of 2022, the cost of groceries remains a significant source of stress for millions of American families, especially those with limited incomes who see their purchasing power decrease month after month.
Political-economic context in the U.S. and its impact on prices
Since the beginning of Donald Trump's term in 2025, the official narrative has aimed to convey that U.S. inflation is under control or even decreasing, although recent data contradicts those claims.
In April, Trump declared that “there is no inflation”, and asserted that the prices of oil and food were falling, a statement that was met with skepticism by economists and analysts.
That stance has been a central theme of their political narrative. In March, their administration claimed to be reducing the cost of essential products, including gasoline and eggs, as part of an alleged strategy to correct what they describe as an "economic disaster" left by the previous government.
However, the official data from the BLS presented a more nuanced picture. In March 2025, the year-on-year inflation fell to 2.4%, four-tenths lower than in February, suggesting a temporary moderation in price growth. This figure marked the lowest rate since September of the previous year, partly driven by a 6.3% decline in gasoline prices.
However, this respite does not guarantee a sustained trend. From the environment of the Federal Reserve, warning signals quickly emerged. In May 2025, the Fed decided to keep interest rates unchanged (in the range of 4.25% - 4.50%) and warned that Trump's tariff policy could trigger an inflationary spike or a slowdown in growth.
Economists agree that tariffs are a pressure factor on imported costs, which could be passed on to domestic prices of consumer goods.
In June, this tension was statistically reflected: the year-on-year inflation rose again to 2.7%, indicating that the inflationary effects had not been entirely neutralized. Media outlets such as El País emphasized that the increase was largely due to the impact of tariffs imposed on imported goods.
This context highlights that, although the general inflation rates may show signs of cooling in certain months, the pressures on food and imports remain active.
The discrepancies between the Executive's narrative and the objective data underscore the risk that increases in products like coffee, meat, or eggs may reflect deeper structural forces that do not vanish with speeches.
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