LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas grocery stores have still been seeing the effects of inflation.
Though prices are lower than earlier this year when some items were dollars more expensive, they're up from this time last year.
"Frustrating would be a good word," Steve Goode, Executive Director of the Arkansas Groceries and Retail Merchants Association, said. "As I talk to retailers across the state, I think that they're seeing it all over."
He explained that prices are down, but according to Google, they are still higher than prices from this time last year.
"You're probably gonna see around a five, probably five and a half percent inflation by the time the year shakes out," Goode said.
The big question on all customers' minds is what's causing this, and why do prices continue to rise and fall?
There are a lot of reasons, some close to home, and some halfway around the world.
"It's really just global supply factors that are a big part of it," Jeremy Horpedahl, Assistant Professor of Economics at UCA, said.
Horpedahl explained that the price of ingredients in the food we eat has been high for the past two years, thanks to shortages and supply chain delays.
"As the price of things like wheat stabilizes, then the price of the things we buy that are made with that are going to see those prices stabilize too," he said.
A possible calming factor, Horpedahl explained, is the Federal Reserve and its increase in interest rates.
"I think the Federal Reserve bank is at a point where they're trying to decide have they done enough, and they've got to kind of wait and see," he said. "Which means we probably won't see any big declines coming up in the next few months."
Goode said it's a hard line to walk— finding ways to lower prices for customers while making ends for businesses meet.
With prices looking to steady, he explained that there may be some hope coming soon.
"As we trend into fall, it looks like there are deals coming for maybe retailers to buy from manufacturers that will hopefully net a little bit lower food costs for consumers," Goode described.