WASHINGTON — The average price paid for white pan bread rose while whole wheat bread fell in December, 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 142c, up 2.1c per lb from November and up 3.4c from December 2010. The gain followed a decrease of 5.8c per lb in November and 2c decline in October. On a month-to-month basis, the average price for white pan bread in December rose in three regions — up 9.1c in the Northeast, up 2.8c in the Midwest, and up 1.5c in the South — and fell in one region — down 4.3c per lb in the West.

At 207.3c per lb, the national average price for whole wheat bread was down 2c per lb from November but up 19.3c per lb from December 2010.

The national average price of family flour in December was 51c per lb, down 0.7c from November but up 6.9c from December 2010. It was the third straight month of lower prices. The price was down in three regions — down 1.7c in the West, down 1c in the Northeast and down 0.9c in the South — and up in one region — up 1.4c in the Midwest.

The national average price for spaghetti and macaroni in December was 130.6c per lb, down 2.2c from November but up 11.5c from December 2010. Chocolate chip cookies were 368.2c per lb, up 6.2c from November and up 24c from December 2010. The national average price of white long-grain rice was 72.9c per lb, down 2.3c from November but up 0.1c from December 2010.