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Donald Trump wasn't entirely lying about egg prices. CPI report shows massive drop
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) report showed a drastic fall in egg prices last month
President Donald Trump's claims about dropping egg prices might not have been completely misleading. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) report published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed a massive decline in egg prices in April, at a whopping 12.7%. This is the biggest monthly decline since 1984.
Not just April, egg prices continue to fall this month, too. The USDA recently reported that a dozen large white-shell eggs now cost $3.30 on average, down by 69 cents a fortnight ago.
The CPI report comes after five months of a surge in egg prices, because of the avian flu epidemic that necessitated the mass killing of hens. However, egg prices are still higher now than before the flu outbreak. But experts believe the worst of ‘EggGate’ has passed.
Read More: April CPI report: What's exactly in the latest inflation report - explaining key numbers
“Maybe the worst of EggGate has passed,” Tyler Schipper, associate professor in economics and data analysis at the University of St Thomas in St. Paul, told CNN.
Only earlier this month, Trump claimed that grocery and gas prices are falling. "We're only in a TRANSITION STAGE, just getting started!!!" he posted on Truth Social.
Back then, economists told ABC News that his claims were misleading. Last month, the president reacted to egg prices while speaking at a presser after Dr Mehmet Oz was sworn in as the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
“You can have all the eggs you want. We have too many eggs. In fact, if anything, the prices are getting too low. So I just want to let you know that the prices are down,” Trump said.
Bird flu has killed more than 169 million birds since early 2022. Any time a bird gets sick, the entire flock is killed to help keep bird flu from spreading. Once a flock is slaughtered, it can take as long as a year to clean a farm and raise new birds to egg-laying age.
(With AP inputs)
