U.S. retail egg prices fell in April from the record-high prices they hit earlier this year, according to government data released Tuesday.
The average price for a dozen Grade A eggs dropped 12.7% to $5.12 in April, according to the Consumer Price Index. It was the first month-to-month decline in egg prices since October 2024.
Still, egg prices remain near historic highs as a persistent outbreak of bird flu continues to wipe out flocks of egg-laying hens. The April figure is 79% higher than the same month a year earlier, when the price averaged $2.86 per dozen.
In March, U.S. egg prices had climbed to a record $6.23 per dozen. It was unclear how much egg prices would fall in April because consumer demand is usually high around Easter and Passover.
Bird flu has killed more than 169 million birds since early 2022. Any time a bird gets sick, the entire flock is killed to help keep bird flu from spreading. That can have an effect on the egg supply because massive egg farms may have millions of birds.
In April, outbreaks on two farms on Ohio and South Dakota affected more than 927,000 egg-laying hens.
U.S. stocks edged up to more records. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2%, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.4%. All three set all-time highs. Technology stocks helped lead the way after OpenAI announced partnerships with South Korean companies for its Stargate artificial-intelligence infrastructure project. Fair Isaac surged to its best day in nearly three years after unveiling a program where customers can potentially bypass big credit bureaus for FICO credit scores. Stock indexes also rose across much of Europe and Asia, while Treasury yields eased in the bond market.
U.S. stocks are drifting toward more records as Wall Street still doesn’t seem to care much about the latest shutdown of the U.S. government.
It pays less and less to buy and flip a home these days. The typical home flipping profit margin fell in the second quarter to its lowest level since 2008, with a typical return of 25.1% before expenses. That's according to an analysis by Attom, a real estate data company. Rising home prices are driving up acquisition costs, making flipping less profitable. The median price for a flipped home reached a record high of $259,700, according to Attom. Meanwhile, with many aspiring homeowners priced out of the market, real estate investors are taking up a bigger share of U.S. home sales overall.
A new report finds the Department of Government Efficiency’s remaking of the federal workforce has battered the Washington job market and put more households in the metropolitan area in financial distress.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday signaled a cautious approach to future interest rate cuts, in sharp contrast with other Fed officials who have called for a more urgent approach. In remarks in Providence, Rhode Island, Powell noted that there are risks to both of the Fed’s goals of seeking maximum employment and stable prices. His approach is in sharp contrast to some members of the Fed’s rate-setting committee who are pushing for faster cuts.
Wall Street is rising toward more records, led by a rally for technology stocks. The S&P 500 rose 0.7% Thursday.
