In
Austin, Texas, the Randalls chain slashed prices for boneless beef ribs by 40
percent, to $3.99 a pound.
The
H-E-B chain countered at $2.99 a pound.
Albertsons
advertised “buy 1 get 1 free” specials on “USDA Choice Petite Sirloin Steak.”
Wal-Mart
offered a dozen eggs for $1.14 at its store In North Bergen, New Jersey, but a
mile away, Aldi was selling eggs for 99
cents a dozen.
A
year ago, when avian influenza reduced U.S. flocks by tens of millions of hens,
prices where $3 or more a dozen.
Food
prices have fallen for nine straight months in the U.S. It’s the longest streak
of food deflation since 1960 -- with the exception of 2009, when the financial
crisis was winding down.
Analysts
credit low oil and grain prices, as well as cutthroat competition from
discounters. Consumers are winning out; grocery chains, not so much.
