Payam Javan: The Bureau of Labor Statistics published the December Consumer Price Index on January 12th. The information revealed that the yearly rate of inflation has decreased by 0.1 percent to 6.5 percent. The food index increased at the same time by 0.3 percent, bringing the overall percentage increase to 10.4 percent.

The rising price of eggs was the single biggest factor in the rise in the food index. Egg prices increased by 11.1 percent from the previous month and by a staggering 59.9 percent over the previous year.

According to data from the St. Louis Federal Reserve, a dozen big, Grade A eggs cost an average of $4.25 in the United States in December, up from $1.79 a year earlier. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a record outbreak of “highly pathogenic Avian influenza” that has killed millions of hens is to blame for the present egg crisis.