WASHINGTON — Another month of mixed price moves occurred in the average price paid for white pan bread and whole wheat bread during January, 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 136c, down 3c per lb from December and down 2.1c from January 2009. On a month-to-month basis, the average price for white pan bread fell in three regions — down 7.2c in the Northeast, down 5% in the South and down 4.5% in the West — and rose in one region — up 2.1% in the Midwest.


At 175.9c per lb, the national average price for whole wheat bread was up 0.2c per lb from December but down 21.5c per lb from January 2009. The month-over-month increase ended two consecutive months of sharp declines.

The national average price of family flour in January was 49.1c per lb, up 2.7c from December but down 2.6c from January 2009.

The national average price for spaghetti and macaroni in January was 114.7c per lb, down 2.2c from December but up 1.6c from January 2009. Chocolate chip cookies were 328c per lb, down 12.7c from December but up 16.6c from January 2009.