Topline
President Donald Trump said Thursday his administration intends to bring beef prices down “soon,” as prices hit all time-highs and inflation for the meat significantly outpaces most other food products, though he did not offer details beyond saying the administration’s “magic” has led to a deal nearly coming together.
Key Facts
Trump said in an Oval Office appearance, “I think we have a deal on beef that’s gonna bring the price of beef [down], that would be the one product that we would say is a little bit higher than we’d want it.”
The price of beef is “gonna be coming down pretty soon too,” Trump said. “We did something, we worked our magic.”
The average price for ground beef reached an all-time high average of $6.31 a pound in August, marking a 1% rise from the previous month and a 14% increase since the start of the year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The price of beef and veal rose nearly 14% between August 2024 and August 2025, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, with uncooked steak prices rising 16.6%.
Inflation for beef over that time period was far higher than overall inflation (2.9%) and inflation specifically for groceries (2.7%).
Lean and extra lean ground beef prices are also up, reaching $7.95 a pound on average in August, an 8% increase from January.
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Big Number
The consumer price index for all food increased 0.4% month-over-month in August, with costs of beef and veal, other meats and fresh vegetables experiencing the largest jolts, according to the Department of Agriculture.
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