Egg prices have declined rapidly over the last year as the market normalizes following a significant avian flu outbreak that began in 2022, though the threat of a resurgence in the virus could lead to volatility later this year.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Wednesday reported the consumer price index (CPI) for February, which showed egg prices declined by 3.8% in the month and are down 42.1% from a year ago. By contrast, headline CPI inflation was 2.4% higher than it was a year ago.

Bernt Nelson, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation, told FOX Business that the U.S. egg industry has been on a “rollercoaster of avian influenza detection” since 2022, with detections ranging from about 20 million birds affected to nearly zero birds, depending on the time of year.

“Because of this, we’ve had times when the laying flock was damaged enough to really drive prices higher,” Nelson said. He added that a dozen eggs cost around $4.14 in December 2024 and climbed to a high of $6.22 a dozen in March 2025 – but those have since declined to about $2.50 a dozen, according to data from the BLS and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Economic Research Service.

FEBRUARY INFLATION BREAKDOWN: WHERE ARE PRICES RISING AND FALLING THE FASTEST?

Egg prices have been on a roller-coaster in recent years amid supply disruptions due to an avian flu outbreak. (Emily Elconin/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Nelson added that as of December 2025, egg prices were about 12% below the five-year average as the market recovered from the avian flu-related price shocks. The stabilization of the market comes as the USDA has stepped up detection activities to help mitigate outbreaks.

“USDA has made some dramatic improvements in the last year,” he explained, noting that the agency offers a wildlife assessment that looks for ways wild birds may infiltrate an egg farm as well as a domestic assessment that considers ways to promote agricultural hygiene such as undertaking a foot bath before entering an egg layer house.

“USDA offers these free of charge and then it becomes up to the egg farmer to implement the changes that they need to help secure their farm,” Nelson said, adding that it has “dramatically improved the ability to keep supplies in the pipeline.”

INFLATION HELD STEADY IN FEBRUARY AND REMAINED ABOVE THE FED’S TARGET

Egg prices have declined rapidly over the last year as the supply chain normalized from the avian flu outbreak. (I RYU/VCG via Getty Images)

In the last six months, the slowdown in avian flu cases has allowed production to recover and increase, bringing prices below the level they were at before the larger outbreak began. 

However, the USDA’s wildlife monitoring has found a very high viral load in wild migratory birds passing through all four of the flyways that cross the U.S. from south to north in recent months, which can impact the egg, turkey and broiler industries.

Nelson noted that in the last 30 days there have been about 14 million birds affected, which was higher than some of the lower caseload months during the supply chain normalization. 

HOW THE IRAN WAR COULD HIT AMERICANS’ GROCERY BILLS

Egg prices remain susceptible to volatility as farmers continue to manage avian flu detections. (Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images)

He said there have been about four million detections in March overall, mostly attributed to two relatively large avian flu detections announced this week that covered four million birds at egg production facilities. 

“What that demonstrates is that you can have almost no detections going on, it can be just a really low, smooth sailing situation, and all of a sudden you can have a detection at one of these bigger farms and when that detection it can take a lot of layers out of the pipeline very quickly,” Nelson said.

“We’re not seeing the impacts of that supply change yet, but if we see avian influenza continue to affect houses like that where you’re seeing a high number of birds affected month to month, it can very well push prices back up,” he added.

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Nelson said that when egg farmers’ flocks are impacted by avian flu it can take an emotional toll on the farmers as well as cause financial harm, as USDA indemnity programs cover things like cleanup costs but doesn’t cover the production stoppage that can last up to six months.

The bank’s North Haven private-income fund told investors Wednesday it received quarterly requests making up around 10.9% of the fund’s $7.6 billion in assets, but would stick to a 5% limit. The fund, which is structured as a non-tradable business development company, runs a tender offer every quarter.

Most investors have scant exposure to oil and gas stocks, which act as insurance in case of an energy crisis. In my latest Markets A.M. newsletter, I look at whether it would have been worth holding more energy shares, just in case.

“This process has been arbitrarily undermined by an activist judge,” Pirro said at a fiery press conference responding to the decision, which quashed subpoenas – orders to compel someone to give testimony – from her office seeking information from the bank about cost overruns at renovations of its offices.

In the sun-drenched, high-stakes theater of the Côte d’Azur, new magazines typically arrive like uninvited guests at a Larvotto gala: they appear with a deafening pop of corks, a flurry of superlatives, and a desperate promise to “redefine”luxury, only to evaporate into the Mediterranean mist before the season ends.

But The Monegasque didn’t play by those rules. It didn’t shout; it simply endured. While others were busy announcing themselves, it was busy becoming essential.

And as this young title evolved from a curious newcomer into a permanent fixture of the Principality’s landscape, thequestion began to ripple through the Yacht Club: Who, exactly, is the architect of this quiet takeover?

On paper, the biography is impeccably curated. Luiz Costa Macambira is the founder, the CEO, and the executive editor—a media proprietor who cut his teeth navigating the shark-filled waters of Forbes and Robb Report. But a CV is a cold thing, and it rarely captures the heat of a personality.

Step into the inner sanctum of Monaco—that rarified Venn diagram where old money, new tech, and quiet diplomacy overlap—and you’ll hear a different story. Costa Macambira isn’t spoken of as a mere businessman; he is regarded as that rarest of species: a genuinely cultivated man. Fluent in five languages and intellectually exacting, he is a figuremore likely to be found dissecting a passage of Stendhal or Proust than skimming a management handbook.

There is a deliberate stillness to him, a temperament closer to a lifelong bibliophile than a boardroom showman. He navigates the world of private aviation and global capitals not as an aspirant pressing his nose against the glass, but as a man for whom these things are simply the background noise of a life well-lived. To his peers, his sophistication isn’t a costume—it is his natural skin. This polish, however, is underpinned by a formidable history in the global commodities market. In the 1990s, Costa Macambira famously came within a breath of cornering the Russian coffee market, a high-stakes background that provides the steel beneath the magazine’s silver-spoon exterior. He understands leverage, scarcity, and access—the three holy grails of influence—and he successfully translated the brutal logic of the trade floorinto the elegant grammar of the printing press.

It is tempting to view the name The Monegasque ™ as a mere geographical marker. That would be a mistake. In a square mile where one in three residents is a multimillionaire, “Monegasque” isn’t a location; it’s a social altitude. While every other title tries to cover the city, Costa Macambira’s masterstroke was to imply membership in it. It is asubtle, lethal form of social filtration. It tells the reader: “This isn’t just a magazine you buy; it’s a room you are invited to enter.”

The true genius lies in his editorial “reverse-uno” card. In the traditional media world, journalists interrogate the elite. AtThe Monegasque™ , the elite hold the pen. By placing figures like Prince Felix of Luxembourg, Helga Piaget, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Jermaine Jackson behind the byline rather than in front of a microphone, Costa Macambira tapped into a profound human truth: the powerful don’t want to be profiled—they want to be heard. It is a total subversion of thehierarchy— less an interrogation, more a testimony.

When the magazine hosted its annual gala at the Yacht Club de Monaco in December 2025, it was more than a party; it was a physical manifestation of an empire. With Jermaine Jackson performing for a room packed with global titans, theevening served as proof of Costa Macambira’s core thesis: in the world of the ultra-high-net-worth, the real product isn’tpaper and ink. It’s convening. Yet, for all its current luster, one wonders if this model is built for the ages or if it is tied too tightly to the singular orbit of its founder. In an industry littered with vanity projects, The Monegasque ™ stands apart because it was built on thought rather than hype, but the question remains: can a platform so reliant on high-level proximity and first-person authority survive a transition beyond its architect’s personal Rolodex? For now, it is ablueprint for the future of the medium—but whether it becomes a lasting institution or remains a brilliant, fleeting anomaly of the Riviera depends on whether the “club” can eventually outgrow its chairman.

Home prices are still climbing, even as mortgage rates have eased slightly and inventory shows early signs of improvement, underscoring just how tight the U.S. housing market remains.

The median sales price for all existing homes last month hovered just below $400,000, marking the 32nd consecutive month of year-over-year price increases, according to the National Association of Realtors.

That persistent affordability squeeze is putting renewed pressure on homebuilders to help get the American dream back on track.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage is 6.11%, according to Freddie Mac. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

TRUMP PLEDGES TO MAKE HOUSING AFFORDABLE WHILE KEEPING VALUES UP

Despite softer consumer sentiment and elevated borrowing costs, the homebuilding industry is signaling cautious optimism heading into the year.

“A lot of builders, many of these small businesses, men and women building homes across this country, had some of the best January they’ve had in a while,” National Association of Home Builders CEO Jim Tobin told FOX Business.

Industry leaders say part of that momentum stems from growing acceptance that interest rates are likely to stabilize rather than surge higher. A resilient stock market and steady job growth have also helped support buyer confidence on the margins.

Meanwhile, a structural shift in the market is giving new construction a competitive edge.

For the first time in modern housing cycles, newly built homes in some markets are now cheaper than existing homes. Builders say “rate lock” dynamics are a major factor. Millions of homeowners are reluctant to give up ultra-low 3% or 4% mortgages for rates closer to 6% or higher, limiting resale inventory and pushing more buyers toward new builds.

“A lot of people have more confidence in what their house should cost, and what we’re seeing right now is that new homes are the only game in town,” Tobin added.

The homebuilding industry is signaling cautious optimism. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

HOMEBUYERS REFUSE TO BACK DOWN AS MORTGAGE RATES CONTINUE HOVERING STUBBORNLY NEAR 6% MARK

The supply imbalance remains severe. The U.S. is estimated to be roughly 4 million homes short, according to industry estimates, keeping upward pressure on prices even as construction activity fluctuates.

Still, builders face significant headwinds of their own, including high land costs, elevated labor expenses, material prices and regulatory hurdles at the local, state and federal levels.

At this year’s NAHB International Builders’ Show, the world’s largest annual light construction event, the industry is spotlighting new strategies aimed at improving affordability. Those include the use of alternative building materials, artificial intelligence in design and planning, and the expansion of smaller, more efficient housing models such as smart and tiny homes.

One of the most notable shifts is the steady downsizing of new homes.

Builders face significant headwinds, including high land costs, elevated labor expenses, material prices and regulatory hurdles. (Joshua Lott/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

AMERICAN HOMEBUYERS GAIN MOST PURCHASING POWER SINCE 2022

After the Great Recession, the average new home size reached roughly 2,700 square feet, according to Census data and an NAHB analysis. That fell to about 2,565 square feet during the pandemic housing boom and is projected to decline further to around 2,400 square feet by the end of 2025, according to the latest data available.

Builders are also cutting costs by simplifying designs, reducing or streamlining design teams and increasingly leveraging AI-driven planning tools to improve efficiency.

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As a result, the average price of a newly built home is now estimated to be roughly $30,000 lower than the average existing home in certain markets, a reversal that would have been nearly unthinkable in previous housing cycles.

With resale inventory constrained and affordability still strained, builders are increasingly positioning innovation, efficiency and smaller footprints as the blueprint for easing America’s housing shortage.