How COVID-19 affected consumer prices

Coast-to-coast shutdowns of businesses and stay-at-home orders from the effort to contain the new coronavirus pandemic took their toll on U.S. consumer prices in March, sending them down by the most in five years.

The hit to overall consumer demand with more than 16 million people thrown out of work so far is likely to persist, suggesting prices will remain weak for some time to come.

But the drop in prices was especially pronounced in a handful of categories. And in a handful of cases, the quarantine efforts are driving prices higher.

Here is a look at some of notable changes and what is behind them:

Travel

Airlines are operating at a fraction of their pre-crisis capacity and national hotel chains have largely shut their doors due to the absence of travelers.

As a result, airline fares plunged 12.6% between February and March, and hotel lodging costs tumbled 7.7%.

Energy

The energy sector has been hit with a one-two punch in the crisis. The drop in travel and daily commuting arising from the COVID-19 containment efforts has meant demand for gasoline has plummeted.

U.S. gasoline prices slid 10.5%, the most in four years, while fuel oil prices fell 13.7%, which was the largest slide since 2008.

Sporting goods

For many U.S. consumers, the crisis hit home when professional sports leagues suspended their seasons, and state and local stay-at-home orders meant youth and other amateur leagues were placed on hiatus.

That, along with the closure of most sporting-goods retailers, contributed to a near-record drop in prices for sports gear. They fell 2% month-over-month in March.

Cars and trucks

New passenger vehicle prices are dropping fast. In March, new car prices dropped by the most in nearly three years and light truck prices skidded by the most since August 2009.

Food goes other way

Food prices bucked the downtrend in March and moved higher by 0.3% last month, but combined with the gain in February, when some consumers had already begun hoarding grocery staples, the rise in the last two months is the most since 2014. Disruptions to food supply chains that are beginning to emerge from the crisis.

The cost of food at home is rising even faster as shelter-in-place requirements lift demand at grocery stores. The cost of eating at home rose 0.5% for the second month.

Boozing

With restaurants and bars closed across the country, consumers have been stocking up on alcoholic beverages, and the prices for wine and beer at home have risen sharply. Wine prices rose 0.9%, matching their largest increase since 2014, and beer costs rose 0.8% for a third straight month.