WASHINGTON — The average price paid for white pan bread jumped 3.8c per lb in December, its largest month-over-month increase since December 2007, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. The price of whole wheat bread, meanwhile, plummeted 7.1c per lb in December, its largest month-over-month decline since falling 12.8c per lb in October 2005.

The national average retail price of white pan bread was 141.5c according to the B.L.S. The December price for white pan bread increased 13.5c compared with December 2007. On a month-to-month basis, the average price for white pan bread rose 10.9c per lb in the West, 8.1c in the Northeast and 2.8c in the Midwest. The average price fell 0.8c per lb in the South.

At 194.8c per lb, the national average price for whole wheat bread fell below 200c for the first time since September 2008. Even so, the price remained up 13.9c year-over-year.

The national average price of family flour in December was 50.4c per lb, up 1c from November and up 10.6c from December 2007. The gain ended four straight months of declines in pricing, according to the B.L.S.

The national average price for spaghetti and macaroni in December was 113.4c per lb, down 1.3c from November but up 28.8c from December 2007. Chocolate chip cookies were 304.8c per lb, down 6.4c from November but up 32.9c from December 2007.