The average price paid for white pan bread and whole wheat bread both decreased in Aug., according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the US Department of Labor.

The national average retail price of white pan bread was 140.7c, down 2c per lb from July and down 6.7c from Aug. 2011. The decrease followed an increase of 2.4c per lb in July. On a month-to-month basis, the average price for white pan bread in Aug. rose in three regions — up 2.3c in the West, up 0.9c in the South and up 0.5c in the Midwest — but fell sharply in one region — down 13.1c in the Northeast. The average price has now fallen 18.3c per lb over the past two months in the Northeast, to 138c from 156.3c.

At 190.5c per lb, the national average price for whole wheat bread was down 6.9c per lb from July and down 6.9c per lb from August 2011.

The national average price of family flour in Aug. was 53.1c per lb, up 1.5c from July but down 0.6c from Aug. 2011.

The national average price for spaghetti and macaroni in Aug. was 136.1c per lb, down 0.8c from July but up 8.2c from Aug. 2011. Chocolate chip cookies were 337.4c per lb, down 26.6c from July but up 22.4c from Aug. 2011. The national average price of white long-grain rice was 68.3c per lb, up 0.2c from July but down 3.2c from Aug. 2011.