againNEW YORK — People are paying more to fuel up these days — on coffee. J.M. Smucker, maker of stalwart Folgers and Dunkin’ Donuts coffee, said Tuesday it is raising prices on most of its U.S. coffee products by 11 percent, its fourth increase in a year. And Kraft, Peet’s and Starbucks also have recently raised their prices for brewed and packaged coffee.
A 1-pound can of ground coffee sold for $5.10 in April, up 40 percent from $3.64 the year before, according to the Department of Labor. By comparison, a gallon of regular gasoline cost $3.83 on average Tuesday, up 37 percent from a year earlier.
And the coffee increases could continue for a while because coffee futures were trading for $2.61 per pound Tuesday, roughly double a year earlier. The Associated Press; AP file photo
