Wall Street Journalさんのインスタグラム写真 - (Wall Street JournalInstagram)「If you’re planning a cookout this summer, the chicken breasts and pork chops are finally a little cheaper. It’s the ketchup, potato chips and crackers that will cost you. ⁠ ⁠ The laws of supply and demand have tamed prices for goods such as meat, eggs, produce and gas. The Federal Reserve’s 10 rate hikes in the past 15 months have also helped bring some prices closer to normal levels. ⁠ ⁠ Prices, though, are stubbornly rising for what retail and food executives refer to as “the center store.” ⁠ ⁠ The middle of the store stocks items that can sit on shelves without going bad quickly, from cereal to cookies, paper towels to dish soap—all essentials that consumers can’t really put off buying.⁠ ⁠ Prices for potato chips rose an average 17% to $3.05 per package for the 52 weeks ended May 27, compared with the previous year, according to NielsenIQ, a market-research firm. Mayonnaise increased 23% to $4.93 per container. Applesauce jumped 22%.⁠ ⁠ The chief executives of the country’s major retailers aren’t happy. They are resisting further price increases from the nation’s packaged-food giants or pushing for lower prices—but the process is taking longer than they had hoped.⁠ ⁠ The persistent price increases for pantry staples are weighing on consumers and limiting their spending on other goods and services needed to power the American economy as people prioritize buying food and other necessities. Two major industries—retailers and producers of consumer packaged goods—have been locked in a power struggle, with retailers throwing their muscle at suppliers to control prices, and suppliers trying to restore or protect their profit margins.⁠ ⁠ Read more at the link in our bio.⁠ ⁠ Photo Illustration: C.J. Burton⁠ Photos: iStock」7月12日 9時00分