Ice cream, potato chips lead grocery price increases

Ice cream, in one-half gallon cartons, is one of the grocery items that saw a jump in price between February and March, up 3.5% in a 30-day period, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Over the past year, the confection is up 17% in price,

Potato chips, up 15.7% since March 2022, is up 4.8% from February to March.

However, the government reports for the first time since September 2020, the overall cost of groceries fell in March in comparison to the previous month, by 0.2%.

Taking a broader view, the overall grocery bill remained up 8.4% compared to one year ago.

Stacker.com, in its analysis, said Russia's invasion of Ukraine, labor disruptions and heightened consumer demand are responsible for keeping prices high in the supermarket.

Inflation is cooling, analysts say, but still hasn't reached pre-pandemic levels.

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