European eggflation slows down as American prices surge under Trump

BRUSSELS — The price of eggs is under control in Europe — just as President Donald Trump’s administration steps up an international egg hunt to combat shortages amid record prices in the United States.

Egg prices in the EU did increase over the past year, but at a slower rate than in years prior, the bloc’s stats agency Eurostat reported Thursday.

Egg prices in March were, on average, 6.7 percent higher in the EU than last March — an acceleration from the two preceding months. But even with these increases, the price rises are still much slower than in 2022 and 2023.

Still, the average figure masks huge national divergences — with egg prices up by 46 percent in Czechia in March from a year earlier, by 30 percent in Slovakia and by 26 percent in Hungary.

Prices fell by 3.6 percent in the Netherlands, by 3.2 percent in Luxembourg and by 2 percent in Greece.

The U.S., meanwhile, continues to grapple with a major outbreak of avian influenza, or bird flu, which has forced the culling of millions of laying hens. In March, U.S. egg prices climbed to an all-time high of $6.23 a dozen.

Trump fumed on Thursday morning that, actually, egg prices were down (though data shows prices were at $4.90 a dozen in January before President Joe Biden left office), in a social media post complaining that the European Central Bank had found room to cut interest rates.

Trump lamented that the U.S. Federal Reserve had not managed to similarly cut U.S. interest rates, even though he railed that “Oil prices are down, groceries (even eggs!) are down, and the USA is getting RICH ON TARIFFS.”