WASHINGTON — The average price paid for white pan bread fell sharply while whole wheat bread finished higher in March, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor.

The national average retail price of white pan bread was 139.5c, down 4.7c per lb from February and down 2.2c from March 2011. The gain followed an increase of 1.9c per lb in February. On a month-to-month basis, the average price for white pan bread in March fell in three regions — down 13c in the Northeast, down 7.4c in the West and down 4.2c in the South — and rose in one region — up 1.6c per lb in the Midwest.

At 205.6c per lb, the national average price for whole wheat bread was up 1.2c per lb from February and up 16.1c per lb from March 2011.

The national average price of family flour in March was 51.9c per lb, down 0.9c from February but up 1.1c from March 2011.

The national average price for spaghetti and macaroni in March was 127.1c per lb, down 4c from February but up 7.4c from March 2011. Chocolate chip cookies were 348.3c per lb, down 29.5c from February but up 26.4c from March 2011. The national average price of white long-grain rice was 70c per lb, down 1.8c from February and down 4.5c from March 2011.