Grocery prices dipped slightly in September. Our tracked basket fell 0.44 percent from August, but it is still 0.47 percent higher than a year ago. A temporary drop in the price of boneless, skinless chicken breast accounted for most of the decline. Canned soup, fresh fruit and ground beef also pulled costs down, while cereal, cheese and deli turkey pushed them up. Store-brand cereal rose 14.2 percent and block cheese rose 10.1 percent. Under the small overall change, prices for individual items moved quite a bit. Several low-cost staples, including potatoes and peanut butter, are slowly getting more expensive. This month we also added 12 items that we’ll now track year-round, among them avocados and holiday staples like turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce.
