The large swings in egg prices has had a noticeable impact on the actual CPI. Normally a small 0.1% component would not have a noticeable impact but increasing by 250% or decreasing by 60% has an effect. Today, the trading economics egg price tracker using USDA information shows that egg prices have dropped to $4.15 nationwide. This is about half of the peak prices of $8.17 per dozen in January, 2025. This trend will likely have some follow through to the normal pricing of $3.0-$3.5 per dozen. This egg price drop alone would take 0.2 off of the 2.8 CPI reading released a two days ago.
Why is a futurist and technology site tracking the price of eggs? Getting inflation below 2.0% will let the US federal reserve cut interest rates aggressively. Cutting interest rates will boost the economy, stock prices and make it easier to fund technology companies.
The share of eggs in the CPI represents the proportion of total consumer spending attributed to eggs, expressed as a percentage. This weight is small because eggs are just one of many items in the basket, which includes thousands of goods and services. Based on typical BLS data and estimates derived from consumption patterns, the relative importance of eggs in the CPI is approximately 0.1%.
Contribution to CPI increase = Weight of eggs × Percentage change in egg prices
Weight of eggs = 0.1% = 0.001 (as a decimal)
Percentage change in egg prices = 300% = 3 (as a decimal multiplier relative to the original price)
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
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Since here in Calgary I hadn’t noticed large spikes in the price of eggs I finally decide to google for information on why the spikes in the US but not Canada.
Here is an article I found.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/egg-prices-avian-flu-canada-us-1.7450654
Glad to see some discussion of inflation here.
Eggs are a dramatic example but things like rentals given NIMBY ism must have a far greater impact .
This clip refers to New Hampshire.
One of the most pressing financial challenges for many is the cost of housing. According to data from Zillow, median rents are approximately 35% higher today than they were before the pandemic. With high home prices and mortgage interest rates pricing many would-be buyers out of the real estate market, rentals have been highly competitive.