WASHINGTON — The average price paid for white pan bread fell while whole wheat bread moved higher in May, 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 141.2c, down 1.4c per lb from April and down 6c from May 2011. The decrease followed an increase of 3.1c per lb in April. On a month-to-month basis, the average price for white pan bread in May rose in two regions — up 0.9c in the West and up 0.3c in the South — and fell in two regions — down 7.3c in the Northeast and down 3.3c per lb in the Midwest.
At 202.7c per lb, the national average price for whole wheat bread was up 0.8c per lb from April and up 11.6c per lb from May 2011.

The national average price of family flour in May was 51.3c per lb, down 0.2c from April and down 0.8c from May 2011. It was the third consecutive month in which the national average price has declined.

The national average price for spaghetti and macaroni in May was 134.4c per lb, up 2.8c from April and up 11.3c from May 2011. Chocolate chip cookies were 368.9c per lb, down 15.2c from April but up 47c from May 2011. The national average price of white long-grain rice was 67.7c per lb, down 1.9c from April and down 9c from May 2011.