The cost of going out to eat is rising faster than eating at home.
The latest U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service food price outlook reports that food away from home (restaurant food) prices in October were up 2.5% higher than year-ago levels.
In contrast, the USDA said that food purchased at grocery stores was just 0.1% higher than the same time last year.
Dairy product prices increased 0.1 percent from September to October but are 0.2 percent lower than October 2017 prices. While prices for cheese and related products decreased, retail milk prices rose 0.7 percent, and ice cream and related product prices increased 0.5 percent from September to October. Milk production is expected to rise at a modest rate of 1.1 percent in 2018. Dairy exports have strengthened but are expected to be limited for the rest of the year due to recent tariffs imposed by Mexico and China. Domestic demand for most dairy products has been relatively weak in the first half of the year but is expected to recover in the second half of 2018. ERS expects retail dairy prices to change between -1.0 and 0.0 percent in 2018 but rise 3.0 to 4.0 percent in 2019.
The full report can be seen here.