Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Eggs, coffee and air fares hit by biggest price rises as inflation reaches a 41-year high

Eggs, coffee and air fares hit by biggest price rises as inflation reaches a 41-year high

The price of eggs has jumped by more a third in the past year, while coffee is up 29% – far more than the average rate of inflation.
As inflation hit a 41-year high of 8.6% in May, some items are feeling the heat more than others, with the cost of eggs, air travel and coffee all soaring.

A further rise last month after a dip in April dashed hoped that increases had peaked.

Consumer Prices Index (CPI) data from the Bureau for Labor Statistics show some items have increased by more than 50% in the last year.

Products using gasoline have had the fastest price rises in the past year, tied to tight energy supplies as prices at the pump reach historic levels, with unleaded gas up by half since May 2021.

But some everyday essentials, particularly some breakfast favorites, have also increased by much more than the 8.6% average, underlining the strain on consumers' wallets.

The price of eggs rose 36.2% in the last year, instant coffee increased by 28.9%, while the price of margarine has gone up by 25.4%.

Meanwhile, air fares are up by 38.8% in the past 12 months as rising demand for travel combines with high fuel costs and labor shortages.

Retailers including Target and Walmart are dealing with too much stock, which are expected to lead to discounting. However, both still expect to pass rising costs onto customers.

Other companies also plan to raise prices to combat their own higher costs. In a memo to retailers seen by The Wall Street Journal, Kraft Heinz's chief sales officer Cory Onell said rising costs would force further price hikes for its products.

McDonald's head of international business, Ian Borden, said at an investor conference that the fast-food chain was studying the impact of price rises in stores and their effects on consumer demand.

Yet some items have become cheaper in the past year. The average price of televisions fell by more than 10%, while the price of smartphones is down by more than 20%.

The Federal Reserve is raising interest rates in a bid to combat inflation, but some economists fear the economy will be pushed into a recession or suffer from stagflation as a result.

The force of inflationary effects has also varied across the US. In Tampa, rises jumped by an average of 11.3% in May, compared with just 6.3% in New York.

A Florida economist told Insider in May this was largely due to high demand for housing in Tampa, with house sales accounting for 40% of the inflation measure, as well as transport, with Floridians more dependent on car travel than areas like New York.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×