WASHINGTON — The average price paid for white pan bread finished higher while whole wheat bread ended lower in April, 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 142.6c, up 3.1c per lb from March and up 0.6c from April 2011. The gain followed a decrease of 4.7c per lb in March. On a month-to-month basis, the average price for white pan bread in April rose in three regions — up 5.7c in the Northeast, up 4.3c in the South and up 3.8c in the Midwest — and fell in one region — down 3.3c per lb in the West.

At 201.9c per lb, the national average price for whole wheat bread was down 3.7c per lb from March but up 9c per lb from April 2011.

The national average price of family flour in April was 51.5c per lb, down 0.4c from March but up 1.5c from April 2011. It was the second consecutive month in which the national average price has declined.
The national average price for spaghetti and macaroni in April was 131.6c per lb, up 4.5c from March and up 14.3c from April 2011. Chocolate chip cookies were 384.1c per lb, up 35.8c from March and up 55.3c from April 2011. The national average price of white long-grain rice was 69.6c per lb, down 0.4c from March and down 3.8c from April 2011.