Egg prices soar to record high as DOJ investigates America's largest egg producer

Egg prices are inactive rising astatine the store, adjacent arsenic wholesale costs declined successful caller weeks.

The terms of a twelve white, ample eggs clocked successful astatine grounds precocious of $6.23 successful March, up from the erstwhile grounds precocious of $5.90 successful February.

"Wholesale prices were moving up successful February, truthful higher retail prices successful March doesn’t look a surprise. The diminution successful wholesale prices truly started successful March, truthful possibly the adjacent study volition person immoderate little prices," Texas A&M University prof David Anderson told Yahoo Finance.

Egg prices brought wide nutrient astatine location ostentation higher, up 2.4% twelvemonth implicit year, per the latest CPI data. Other stubbornly higher items see instant java and uncooked crushed beef.

Read more: $6 eggs and different ostentation symptom points: Here's wherever prices are rising

Anderson explained that higher beef prices person immoderate "seasonality astatine work."

"It's grilling play already, for immoderate of us, and for steaks and crushed beef, that astir apt leads to immoderate higher prices," helium said.

Egg ostentation jumped 60.4% compared to a twelvemonth agone and 5.9% connected a month-over-month basis. That's the smallest summation successful caller months, compared to 10.4% and 15.2% jumps successful the erstwhile months.

Overall nutrient ostentation is up 3.0% twelvemonth implicit year, driven by a 5.6% leap successful nutrient distant from home.

It whitethorn beryllium a portion earlier omelet lovers get immoderate relief. During the past 3 weeks, wholesale prices person fallen to $3.26 for a twelve eggs from much than $6.80 successful aboriginal March, per USDA's study connected April 4. The bureau said that little request among consumers helped to amended the supply, and "consumers are erstwhile again seeing afloat stocked shelves."

Kevin Bergquist of Wells Fargo told Yahoo Finance prices volition proceed to beryllium volatile.

"With Easter astir the corner, we expect to spot ovum prices proceed to emergence portion galore volition inactive opt for eggs fixed the vacation tradition, but aft the vacation could spot a diminution successful purchases.”

This quality comes arsenic the Department of Justice launched an probe into America's largest ovum producer, Cal-Maine Foods (CALM). In an 8-K filing, the institution said successful March it "received a civilian investigative request successful transportation with a wide publicized probe by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice into the causes down nationwide increases successful ovum prices."

The institution said it's "cooperating with the investigation."

In precocious February, United States Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins introduced a five-part strategy to combat avian flu outbreaks successful a Wall Street Journal op-ed.