food prices

The new head of the U.N. food agency said Tuesday he expects food prices to stay volatile in 2012 — and more people to go hungry.

The U.S. government barely changed its estimate for next year's corn surplus, which is expected to stay small and keep high food prices high.

A U.N. food agency says global food prices have eased marginally, with wheat prices dropping by 3 percent.

If your shopping list includes coffee, chocolate, meat or cereal, your food budget is at risk of ballooning. Here's what's behind the price hikes and how to avoid the pinch.

Consumers spent more on gasoline, clothing and autos in April, pushing retail sales up for a 10th straight month. But much of the gain came from a surge in gasoline and food prices.

The United States is not heading into a sustained bout of high inflation, a top Federal Reserve Bank official said on Wednesday, despite a recent surge in energy and food prices that is sparking fears of 1970s-style price rises.

Asia's economic growth will ease to just under 8 percent for the next two years as the region continues a solid recovery, the Asian Development Bank said Wednesday, while warning that rising food prices threaten to send more people into poverty.

Shoppers' worries about juggling rising gas and food prices and other household costs pushed the Consumer Confidence Index down sharply in March.

The global economy is recovering faster than expected, central bankers from leading nations said Monday, though they see dangers from rising food prices and other inflation in fast-growing markets.

The latest edition of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization's Food Outlook report warns that 2011 may be a difficult year for food in the world's poorest and most food-deprived nations, with national food import bills climbing 11-20%.

In total, food imports, will likely rise to levels not seen since food prices peaked in 2008, and riots ensued in some places.