WASHINGTON — The average price paid for white pan bread fell 3.4c per lb in January, its largest month-over-month decrease since November 2007, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. The decline comes on the heels of a 3.8c per lb increase in December, the largest month-to-month increase since January 2007. The price of whole wheat bread, meanwhile, rose 2.6c per lb in January after falling 7.1c per lb in December.

The national average retail price of white pan bread was 138.1c according to the B.L.S. The January price for white pan bread increased 10c compared with January 2008. On a month-to-month basis, the average price for white pan bread fell in all four regions, easing 7c per lb in the Northeast, 5.7c in the South, 0.4c in the Midwest and 0.3c in the West. It marked the first time since November 2007 that prices declined in each region.

At 197.4c per lb, the national average price for whole wheat bread was up 16.2c per lb from January 2008.

The national average price of family flour in January was 51.7c per lb, up 1.3c from December and up 9.6c from January 2008.

The national average price for spaghetti and macaroni in January was 113.1c per lb, down 0.3c from December but up 11.4c from January 2008. Chocolate chip cookies were 311.4c per lb, up 6.6c from December and up 47.2c from January 2008.