US beef demand slips as ground beef holds above $7 a pound
Why it matters: A 0.3% sales-volume drop during the summer grilling season suggests shoppers are shifting to cheaper proteins like chicken.
Americans are starting to cut back on beef after nearly two years of rising prices, a shift that could ease one of the biggest pressures in grocery inflation. Beef sales volumes fell 0.3% from a year earlier in the 13 weeks ending in mid-July, according to Circana, covering the key Memorial Day and July Fourth period. In the same stretch of the prior two years, volumes rose about 5%. Ground beef averaged $7.116 a pound in July, US Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed, after prices were flat from June. Tight supply remains a core problem: the US cattle herd is near its lowest level in more than 50 years, while processors including Tyson Foods have moved to close plants as cattle costs climb.