Gas, coffee prices spike in Butler County
Over a year into the second term of President Donald Trump, a combination of widespread tariffs — and constant changes surrounding them — a government shutdown and foreign entanglements have created a storm of economic uncertainty.
However, a check of prices on staple grocery items at two major stores in Butler County shows most items have stabilized in price over the past year. Some exceptions include coffee and soda.
The same cannot be said for gasoline. After three years of steady ups and downs in gas prices, the conflict in the Middle East, which started late last month, has sent the price of crude oil — and thus, gasoline — to its highest spike since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the year-over-year price increase for food at home is 2.4% as of January, the most recent month for which data is available.
The rate is only a slight increase from the 12 months prior, when it sat at 2.1%.
Data is not available for October 2025 due to the federal government shutdown.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics also tracks the prices of eight individual food items. Of these, the steepest drop in price was for eggs, which averaged $4.95 per dozen in January 2025 and went as high as $6.23 per dozen in March before falling to $2.58 per dozen this January.
The steepest rise was for ground beef, which rose from an average of $5.50 per pound in January 2025 to $6.69 per pound a year later.
These prices are largely reflected at two grocery stores which the Butler Eagle has periodically tracked since January 2025 — Walmart in Cranberry Township and Sprankle’s Neighborhood Market in Saxonburg.
At Walmart, out of the 28 items tracked, seven items dropped in price since the Eagle last visited in August 2025 — Marburger whole milk, Eggland’s Best eggs, Perdue chicken breasts, Barilla pasta, an 8-ounce bag of Lay’s Classic potato chips, most types of apples and Turkey Hill ice cream (which was on sale on the day of the survey).
Another seven items increased in price — ground beef, Nature’s Own bread, lettuce, Quaker granola bars, Folgers coffee, Lipton tea bags and Coca-Cola.
At Sprankle’s, seven items have dropped in price since August; while six items — ground beef, Ben’s Original Jasmine Rice, apples, Turkey Hill ice cream, Folgers coffee and Coca-Cola — had price increases.
The steepest price increase at both locations was for coffee, which went up by $2 at Sprankle’s (from $7.99 to $9.99 for a 9.6 ounce bag) and 71 cents at Walmart (from $6.53 to $7.24).
“Pricing fluctuations are a normal part of doing business and are influenced by a range of factors, including cost increases, supply conditions and seasonal impacts such as poor crop yields,” said a Walmart spokesperson.
Another item that rose steeply was a two-liter bottle of Coca-Cola, which increased by 30 cents at Sprankle’s and 23 cents at Walmart.
“Soda has dramatically gone up nationwide, pricewise,” said Doug Sprankle, owner of the Saxonburg location of Sprankle’s Neighborhood Market. “I’m not sure exactly why. I think it might have been tax-related.”
However, Sprankle said price increases that affect his business most are related to items the stores purchase and uses behind the scenes, such as plastic storage.
“With the current issue with Iran, over the last couple weeks, we’ve seen anything associated with plastic go up … supplies that we mostly use for our meals to go and things of that nature,” Sprankle said.
As of Tuesday, March 9, according to the AAA, the average price for unleaded gasoline in Butler County was $3.752, while the average in the wider Pittsburgh area was $3.746. For the latter, this marks a jump of over 50 cents from a week ago, when the average price stood at $3.238.
“When the national average fluctuates, it’s usually by a few cents, not by 50 cents in one week,” said Jim Garrity, spokesman for the AAA East Central.
Rises and falls in gas prices tend to follow rises and falls in the price of crude oil. As of noon Tuesday, the price of a barrel of crude oil stood at $84.33, after soaring above $100 the day before. A week earlier, the price was $74.56.
“It jumped from the $60-$70 range two weeks ago,” Garrity said. “When oil goes up and down, you expect to see that reflected at the pump in the following days and weeks. It’s all eyes on crude oil.”
Garrity said it’s too soon to tell whether prices will reach as high as they did in the immediate aftermath of the war in Ukraine. However, he recommends consumers who aren’t driving EVs to find ways to conserve fuel — and thus, money.
“One of the easiest things you could do is slow down, because when you’re pushing your car harder by driving faster, the fuel economy is going down exponentially,” Garrity said. “Make sure that you’re lightening your load in your car, combining errands, reducing the amount of times you're driving.
“When gasoline prices hit record highs in 2022, we saw consumers adopt a lot of these behaviors.”
