Another round of CPI inflation data was released yesterday, and for the eleventh month in a row, the cost of dining out rose faster than the cost of food at home. The difference in inflation at restaurants was not inconsequential either. While the cost of eating at home rose 1.2% compared to the year before, eating in a restaurant cost those celebrating Valentine’s Day over 5% more this year than last.
Evie Liu reports in Barron’s:
Prices for food away from home, which tracks the cost of dining out and takeout meals, rose 0.5% in January from the previous month, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That compares with a gain of 0.3% in December and leaves prices 5.1% higher than in January 2023.
Prices at fast-food restaurants jumped 0.6% in January from December for a gain of 5.8% from a year earlier. Full-service restaurants increased prices by 0.4% last month, putting them 4.3% above the year-earlier level.
While restaurant inflation has fallen from 8.2% a year ago, it stands out as high, given that inflation overall has cooled down even more.
The headline consumer price index was up just 3.1% up from a year ago in January, while an index tracking food at home, largely accounting for the cost of groceries, was up 1.2%. Both figures are much lower than their respective levels of 6.4% and 11.3% in January 2023.
Persistently higher menu prices could discourage people from dining out, especially because grocery prices have stabilized. And restaurant reservation data from OpenTable shows that may be happening: The number of diners seated in January was 10% to 15% lower than it was a year earlier.
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