Business: Food: Easier Prices

In many supermarkets, the usually frustrating chore of shopping for food has in recent weeks taken on something of the serendipitous air of an Easter-egg hunt. After years of seemingly nonstop prices, the costs of a growing number of items—eggs, mayonnaise, turkey, tuna, canned fruit—are actually turning down. Though the evidence is still spotty, the long and painful surge in food prices at last appears to be waning.

Last week Pillsbury Co. cut wholesale prices on a broad range of biscuits and other products by 10%. In addition, farm-commodity prices have been dropping for months. Many experts, looking forward to a bumper...