Latest news with #FoodInflation
CBS News
4 hours ago
- Business
- CBS News
Local Stockton meat markets hit by high beef prices, lower demand
Beef prices are now up to more than $9 a pound, going up almost 9% since the start of the year. Numbers show steak and ground beef prices up about 12% and 10% over the last year. Local Stockton meat markets are feeling the pressure from these all-time high prices, forcing some local shops to try and break even. Acambaro Meat Market has been in the same place in Stockton for 20 years. Owned by Francisco Ortega, he said this year, however, has been the most difficult. "We're selling about half of what we used to sell in the past," Ortega said. "We need to up our prices because they upped the price for us." Demand for beef is always high at his store. "If they buy 50 to 60 pounds, we give them the same price we get from the supplier. We only get about 10%. It's not a lot, but we need to work," he said. Lately, supply has been harder to find. He supplies not only his customers, but also taco stands and trucks that roam all over Stockton. "The price of the tacos are now $4, quesadillas are $10. What are we going to do with burritos being $10," he said. "About $4 a taco, $4.50," said Cristina Salinas, who has also seen the rising taco prices. It's forced her, as a mother of two, to find cheaper alternatives. "I'm making tacos at home, and I'm making chicken tacos," she said. "It makes you appreciate it even more, when you get to eat tacos, and order at the taco trucks." "I think this one in particular is driven by demand and supply," said Dr. Sanjay Varshney. Professor Varshney from Sacramento State University said the record-high price isn't surprising. He said finding those alternatives like Salinas could bring demand down and therefore prices, but in the meantime, it could sear your next grocery list. "It just throws a bigger wrench into people's ability to simply survive and put food on the table," he said. Varshney said these beef prices are not impacted by tariffs. A lot of the beef we buy is grown in the U.S. One word of caution, he said, is that these prices won't go back to pre-pandemic levels. Those prices, he thinks, are here to stay.
Free Malaysia Today
6 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Dairy giant New Zealand endures butter price shock
Butter prices leapt 46.5% in the year to June to an average of US$5.09 for a 500g block. (YouTube pic) WELLINGTON : Butter prices have soared in dairy export giant New Zealand, latest figures showed today, with local supplies cut short as the industry chases fatter profits overseas. The dairy price shock spreads as far as cheese and milk, leading one economist to suggest locals face the grim prospect of cereal without milk if they want to save money. Butter prices leapt 46.5% in the year to June to an average of NZ$8.60 (US$5.09) for a 500g block, according to official data from Stats New Zealand. Milk prices surged 14.3% over the same period, while cheese shot up 30%. High dairy prices have hit the headlines in New Zealand, with media outlet Stuff reporting that 'exorbitant' prices are unlikely to 'melt away' any time soon. Wholesale and retail store Costco restricted butter sales to a maximum of 30 blocks per customer in June, but still sold out, according to the New Zealand Herald. The prices are hurting consumers, said independent economist Brad Olsen, chief executive of Infometrics. 'At the moment, I'm going with any other alternative I can find,' Olsen said of butter prices. 'I'd also say, the cheap option for breakfast at the moment seems to be to try cereal without the milk.' 'The phenomenon was driven by international prices and demand,' Olsen said. Creaming off profits 'Butter supplies had failed to keep up with rising demand over the past two years,' he said. 'New Zealand exports the vast majority of our dairy products. So if you're a company that's exporting butter, you've got to make a decision. 'Do you sell it at the international price overseas, or do you sell it cheaper in New Zealand?' the economist said. 'No business is going to sell it cheaper… if they can get a better price overseas,' he added. However, while New Zealand consumers were feeling the price pinch, the overall economy was benefiting as exporters creamed off larger profits from sales overseas. 'The sort of returns that our farmers and the primary sector more broadly are getting, and the economic benefit that brings, is actually far more substantial,' Olsen said. 'It's an extra NZ$4.6 billion (US$2.7 billion) that has been flowing into the economy from the higher dairy payout. That's a significant boost,' he added. 'New Zealand butter lovers are actually faring better than some,' he said, adding they still pay 46% less than Americans.
Forbes
13-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Will More Crazy Tariffs Stop The Most Hated Market Rally?
Food inflation, Consumer price index or CPI. Prices of commodities and consumer goods rose due to ... More rising inflation. Consumer goods float with air balloons. After a strong performance on Thursday, the stock market gave up some of its gains on Friday for a mixed weekly close. New tariff threats on Canada and Mexico did raise the market's concern of more tariff chaos in the weeks ahead. Overall many are looking for just a slight increase in the CPI on Tuesday. FactSets consensus estimates are looking for an increase to 2.6% on an annual basis up from 2.4% in May. It is expected that core good prices will be higher in addition to health and travel services. On the plus side a decline in auto prices is expected as the demand is now lower after the strong buying in March and April. Shelter prices are also expected to move lower. A decline in the CPI is expected to increase the odds of a September rate cut that is currently at 60%. If instead the CPI increases then the Fed has the room to hold off longer on cutting rates. Markets The market scoreboard was split, with the Dow Jones Transportation Average and Dow Jones Utility Average both up 1% for the week, followed by a 0.7% increase for the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1% while the NYSE Composite closed down 0.9%. The S&P 500 made an a new record on Thursday but then declined Friday to close down 0.3% for the week. The Nasdaq 100 was just a bit weaker as it was down 0.4% while the iShares Russell 2000 closed down 0.6%. On a year-to-date basis, GLD is still the big winner, up 27.7% while NDX, the S&P, and NYSE Composite are up from 8.4% to 6.4%. There are a number of performance milestones as well as advance/decline signals this year that point to even better stock gains for the rest of the year. S&P 500 Returns After A Three Month Rally This chart from Ryan Detick and Carson Investment Research shows what has happened in the past after a three-month rally of more than 25% in the S&P 500. If there is an average six-month return of 16.9% it would surprise most on Wall Street and beat most year-end targets. Ryan has been one of the few analysts that has been bullish since the 2022 market lows. Spyder Trust (SPY) The Spyder Trust (SPY) formed a doji last week, which is often considered a sign of indecision between the bulls and bears. A close this week below the doji low at $617.87 would trigger a weekly doji sell signal. The rising 20-week EMA at $589.05 is now strong support. Last week on the NYSE, the A/D ratio was negative, and the S&P 500 Advance/Decline did turn lower. In April, the A/D line moved above the late 2024 high, line b. This signalled that SPY would also eventually move to a new high and above the February high of $613.23. This did occur on June 27th, and SPY has since made a series of new highs. There is good A/D line support at its rising WMA and line b. In last weeks survey from the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) , the bullish % declined to 41.4% from 45%. The bearish % rose to 35.6% from the prior week's 33.1%. The AAII Bull-AAII Bear declined to 5.8% but it had reached -40% at the March-May lows. This was an historically low level of bullish Trust With A/D Line As I have noted in the past, the performance after a Zweig Breath Thrust (ZBT) signal, like the one on April 25th, is also quite impressive. 'Based on 19 signals since the 1940s, the average 6-month return for the S&P 500 after a ZBT signal was 14.8%, while the average 12-month return was 23.4%', according to Investopedia. The stock market decline from the early December highs, until the positive signals at the end of April, caused many to sell their stock positions. This helped to make the V-shaped rally from the lows even more hated. This is one of those frequent examples of why patience is often essential during many market declines. The daily S&P 500 A/D line formed a trading range starting in late January. There were several crosses in the A/D line above its WMA, but on April 23rd, a new uptrend was created. This was followed by the ZBT buy signal and move above the resistance, line c, on April 25th. The NYSE Stocks Only and NYSE All A/D line had also moved through their resistance, which was consistent with the end of their correction. Therefore, the weight of the evidence shifted in favor of the market bulls and limits the market risk. Then, just six days later, the S&P A/D line made a new high as the resistance at line b was overcome. SPY had closed at $566.76, but the new high in the S&P A/D line high projected a move in the SPY above the February high at $613.23. On June 27th, the SPY closed at $614.91. Invesco QQQ Trust From the April lows, the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) has outperformed the SPY by about 5% as it had dropped more sharply from the February highs. Last week, QQQ also formed a doji just 10 points below the monthly R1 pivot resistance at $564.30. The doji low was $549.58 with stronger support at $540.81 and the February high, line a,. The 20-week EMA is rising strongly, which is a positive sign and reveals support at $515.49. The NDX 100 A/D line moved back above its WMA the week of April 25th, line b, which was a sign the correction was over. The following week, the A/D line made a new high that projected a new high in the QQQ. That new high was attained just eight weeks later at the end of June. There was another new high just three weeks ago (line c), and the positive trend shows no signs of a major top. Many traders and investors have been fighting this rally for the past month. There was a slight increase in the index put/call ratio on Friday reflecting the view of some that a correction was likely. This is also consistent with the weekly doji formations that increases the odds of a pullback. The positive readings from the A/D lines suggest only a 2-3% pullback at this time and Tuesday's CPI report along with more tariff chaos may be the catalyst. I will be watching the trading in the stock index futures ahead of the report.
Times of Oman
02-07-2025
- Business
- Times of Oman
Robust 11.3% surge in Kharif sowing bodes well for inflation outlook in 2025: ICICI Bank
New Delhi: Kharif sowing in India is off to a strong start this year, recording an 11.3 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase and it bodes well for the food inflation outlook for the year, according to a recent report by ICICI Bank. The growth has been largely driven by a significant rise in rice sowing, which is up 47.3 per cent YoY, and pulses, which have seen a 37.2 per cent YoY jump. It stated "Kharif sowing is off to a good start (+11.3 per cent YoY) led by rice (47.3 per cent YoY) and pulses (37.2 per cent YoY) which bodes well for food inflation outlook this year". The report noted that monsoon rainfall gained momentum in the second half of June after being in deficit during the first half. For the full month of June, rainfall stood at 109 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA), slightly above the Indian Meteorological Department's (IMD) forecast of 108 per cent. In comparison, June rainfall last year was at 108 per cent of LPA. A regional analysis of rainfall showed that several key agricultural states received rainfall above the LPA. These include Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and West Bengal. However, some states such as Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Chhattisgarh have experienced deficient rainfall. On a zonal basis, Northwest India received the most rainfall at 42 per cent above LPA, followed by Central India at 25 per cent above LPA. Meanwhile, South India recorded rainfall that was 3% below LPA, and East and Northeast India were 17 per cent below LPA. As of June 30, only 10 out of 36 meteorological subdivisions across the country recorded deficient rainfall. This is a marked improvement from last year when 16 subdivisions had reported deficient rainfall by the same time, indicating a better distribution of monsoon this year. Looking ahead, the report also highlighted that rainfall in July is expected to remain favourable. The IMD has forecast rainfall at 106 per cent of LPA for the month, the report added that it should further support kharif sowing activities and improve the overall agricultural outlook.
