Last summer’s drought has come home to roost in the price you’ll be paying for those Super Bowl party chicken wings.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday that chicken prices were up 6 percent in December, versus a year earlier. That's more than triple how much overall food prices have risen over the same time.

Food economists had been warning that the price of foods such as meats and dairy would likely rise because of the summer’s severe drought.

In the case of poultry, the drought led to a rise in prices for the grains that are typically used to feed animals such as chickens and turkeys. That, in turn, has pushed up the price of the chickens.

There are other factors that also are making chicken wings in particular more expensive this year, said Ryan Koory, an economist with IHS Global Insights who specializes in agriculture.

Last year, Koory said there was a glut in supply for chickens that led some farmers to decrease the number of chickens they produced. That in turn started to push prices up.

In addition, he said, in the past year and a half or so consumers have increasingly been turning to cheaper types of chicken, such as dark meat and wings, over pricier parts of the chicken such as chicken breasts. 

All that will likely translate into higher prices when you go to buy your chicken wings for next Sunday's matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers.

The National Chicken Council also said the rise in corn prices resulted in slightly fewer chickens being produced. The trade group is expecting 1.23 billion chicken wings to be consumed on Super Bowl weekend, a 1 percent decline from last year, because of the lower supply.

Despite the higher prices, Koory said chicken remains a better deal than other protein options.

“It’s still the cheapest meat, in comparison to a pork or beef,” Koory said.

Chicken wing lovers who are on a budget could have something to look forward to next year. If the weather cooperates and farmers don’t have to deal with a drought this summer, Koory said chicken prices should start to go down toward the end of 2013.

That means your chicken wings could be cheaper when you host that Super Bowl Sunday party in 2014.

Related: Fingerlickin' good! Best chicken wings in America

AFP

The Drought-stricken corn grows in Missouri Valley, Iowa. Corn prices have soared to record highs.

Though severe drought conditions have raised the cost of food this summer, consumers may have seen the worst of the price impact at the grocery store.

Higher food prices helped lift the closely watched Producer Price Index by 0.3 percent in July, the fastest pace in five months. At the same time retail sales rose 0.8 percent, the first increase in four months and well ahead of expectations, signaling that the sluggish economy may be picking up momentum.

The increase in producer prices was driven in part by a jump in light truck prices, up 1.6 percent, and pharmaceuticals, up 0.9 percent. At the grocery store, wholesale prices rose a sharp 0.5 percent in July, on top of the same price rise in June. Over half that jump resulted from higher prices for beef and veal, which climbed 3.8 percent, according to the government.

But with livestock producers facing steep increases in the cost of feed grains, the rise in meat prices may soon reverse course, according to Michelle Girard, an economist at RBS.

“Because it's so much more expensive to keep them and feed them, you may actually get more cattle being brought to slaughter, so beef prices may actually in the very near term have downward pressure," she said.

To help slow that price drop, and cushion the drought's impact on livestock producers, the White House announced Monday that the federal government will buy $170 million of meat and poultry. The increased demand generated by the government will help offset the expected glut of supply as livestock producers rush their herds to slaughter to avoid spiking feed costs. 

Corn and soy harvest forecasts were slashed last week after the worst drought in 50 years destroyed millions of acres of crops. Corn prices last week hit record levels of nearly $9 a bushel. Wheat and soybeans also hit multiyear highs.

But those spikes are expected to ease as demand eases, beginning with those livestock producers who are trimming herds. Ethanol producers facing soaring corn prices have also scaled back production.  

Rising crop prices have also spurred foreign plantings in recent years, which may blunt the impact of this year’s shortfall in the U.S., according to a recent report on the drought's economic impact from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Since 2003, for example, the former Soviet Union has added 48 million acres of crop production and South American nations have planted an additional 42 million acres, according to the report.

“High prices could entice further expansions in global production that could lead to lower prices,” the report said. “The best cure for high prices might be high prices.”

U.S. consumers will also be shielded from the recent sharp spikes in grain prices because the cost of those raw materials make up a relatively small share of the overall price of finished food products. Commodities like corn and wheat make up roughly 14 percent of the retail cost of food, according to the USDA. The rest of the price posted on the supermarket shelf represents processing, packaging, shipping, marketing and other production costs.    

The Kansas City Fed report estimates this year’s drought could add about 4 percent to retail food prices next year. Since the cost of food makes up about 14 percent of the Consumer Price Index, the drought would contribute just 0.6 percent to overall inflation, according to the Kansas City Fed economists.

Consumers facing higher food prices are also getting some relief from a recent fallback in gasoline prices. Energy prices fell 0.4 percent in July for the fifth month in a row, according to the government’s inflation report. Wholesale gasoline prices fell 3.1 percent last month.

The summer surge in corn prices has sparked calls for a waiver of the government‘s mandates and subsidies promoting corn-based ethanol. Some 40 percent of the U.S. corn crop is diverted to produce the gasoline additive, which raises fuel octane and lowers air pollution.

But a waiver of those mandates appears unlikely – largely because refiners would be hard-pressed to cope with a shortfall in ethanol production. 

“Our gasoline logistics and distribution system is so entrenched with ethanol that we need it and very difficult for the refining system to change," said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates.

With no end in sight to the parched conditions, areas and businesses hardest hit by drought are already feeling the economic impact. But overall losses in the farm belt are expected to be reduced by the widespread use of federal farm insurance, which covers farmer’s losses from crop failures.

So the overall economic impact of this summer’s crop shortfall is expected to knock less than a tenth of a percent off gross domestic product, according to Paul Dales, economist at Capital Economics.

“This is clearly not a disaster for the total economy, but when growth is just 2 percent every little bit counts,” he said.

More money and business news:

• Door-to-door scam operations on the rise
• Your Facebook absence is holding you back
• Money-saving tips for back-to-school shopping
• After Olympic boost, it's austerity for Britons
• Video: Leaving college, chasing dreams
• Sign up for our Business newsletter

Robert Wheeler / Time & Life Pictures

Ann Cox Williams poses with a week's worth of groceries in 1947.

With drought gripping the nation, grocery prices are expected to head higher soon even as many are facing economic hard times. A new generation of home economists, armed with mobile applications and Internet couponing sites, is driving renewed interest in frugal consumption.

In these tough times it's comforting to know that generations before us have faced similar challenges and responded in similar ways -- without all the technology, of course.

A 1947 issue of Life magazine, in a package of stories on “High Prices,” profiled Atlanta housewife Ann Cox Williams, who was held up as a superstar saver for feeding her family on just $12.50 a week.

The author of the article called Williams “the 1947 heroine of the Battle of the Budget,” saying she:

allows herself $12.50 a week to buy all her groceries except milk. On this she manages to feed herself, her husband, her four-year-old twins and even the family cat. The job takes considerable doing. Mrs. Williams is an avid student of grocery ads and shop windows. She limits herself to one shopping expedition a week, at which she weights every penny against the family’s full week appetite. She serves no meat at lunch and limits her evening entrees to such items as meat loaf, hamburgers and chili. Yet she manages to provide two desserts daily and such frills as cookies for a party.

“If all American housewives had the spunk and ingenuity of the woman on this page -- Mrs. Hamilton Williams of Atlanta, Ga. -- inflation would be less of a swear word,” said the article, which showed Williams shopping, studying the newspaper and preparing cookies for a PTA party.

Courtesy of Williams family

Ann Williams with her twin daughters Marcy and Kappy in an image from the 1940s. "My twin sister and I were identical, and at the young ages even we couldn't tell who is who in pictures," said Kappy Williams Bowers.

The spunk and ingenuity needed to save money today has changed a lot, thanks to things like cyber coupons and mobile deal alerts; not to mention the fact that more women work today and don’t have the time to devote to finding the best deals that Williams had.

But the basics of saving money haven’t changed much -- cut back and spend less.

“The more things change the more they stay the same,” said Doug Bachtel,  a professor of consumer economics at the University of Georgia’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences.

“There is something ingrained in American society about penny pinching,” he noted, and many see the thrifty as “wise people who don’t spend frivolously.”

Unfortunately, he added, U.S. consumers these days have found it hard to emulate such budgeters thanks to a mantra of consumption fueled by easy credit; endless supplies of food, a lot of it unhealthy; and television and the Internet that has influenced the young and old to spend, spend, spend.

“Kids today get a $20 lunch box and want their mothers to stick in some high-priced sexy food,” he explained, “not just a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”

Indeed, Williams daughter Kappy Bowers, who was a toddler when she was included in the Life Magazine photo spread, said the world has changed a lot since her mother was profiled in the piece. And she also admitted she wasn’t as budget-minded as her parents when raising her kids.

“I am distressed by the things now, living to get things as opposed living to enjoy life,” she stressed.

Bowers doesn’t remember the Life story being published but has vague recollections of the photo shoot. She also doesn’t remember feeling like her mother was doing something out of the ordinary when she was growing up.

“Mom made all of our clothes -- even our winter coats and rainwear. I don't think we had a store-bought dress until we were 10 or 11,” she recalled.  “I loved my mom dearly, but I learned to sew in self defense.  Our prom dresses were always marked down and somewhat remade bridesmaids dresses -- need I say more? We were regular visitors to the Atlanta Junior League shop for used clothes.”

Her father, a high school teacher, was also a penny pincher. “Dad would gas up the current wreck of a car we were driving and we would head out on Saturday and Sunday afternoons to the rich part of town where we would check out the trash at the curb for things for our home and the lake place,” she said.

The "lake place" referred to a cabin the family built, furnished with items from the junkyard, including a used toilet and a metal shower stall that had a habit of shocking its users.

Williams’ Life magazine spread was recently resurrected in a story published in Reminisce Magazine.

 “The remarkable frugality is what piqued our interest," said John Burlingham, senior editor for the magazine. "We were curious to learn more about this judicious housewife and felt our readers would be, too.”

For some consumers today, the frugal lifestyle has become far more than a curiosity.

Melissa Garcia could very well be the budget-battle heroine of our day.

Known as the “Consumer Queen” online, she has two kids, ages 12 and 15, and a husband with a degenerative disease who is unable to work, so savings money is a priority.

The main difference she sees today compared with Williams’ time has been the explosion of the dual-parent working family. “It’s not just the stay-at-home mom clipping coupons anymore,” she said.

Today, she continued, working mothers and fathers have become savvier and take advantage of deals they can find via the Web. “You can get them on your mobile phone, on Facebook and Twitter,” she said. “It’s more accessible to people.”

For consumers who are struggling, she suggested you “rethink what you buy. More spouses and families need to be more honest with each other and with their kids. They don’t understand what saving money is because they’ve been given everything they want in life.”

In her family she talks with her kids, letting them know when it’s time to stretch the budget for the week.

Some of her tips on purchases include buying fruits and vegetables in season; investing in a standing freezer to store things when they go on sale; and stockpiling things such as canned foods, cleaning supplies and even tooth brushes.

The key, she advised, is convincing yourself that living within your means and saving money isn’t some unattainable goal.

Even in 1947, consumers were shocked at Williams’ budgeting prowess.

The Life magazine piece stated that when Williams' story was shared in the local paper, “less enterprising housewives sent in letters of disbelief that any family could eat so cheaply.”

But her daughter can vouch for it.

Williams died last year at age 95, and the one thing that stands out in Bowers’ mind most is: “I never felt deprived.”

She does remember being the only family in the neighborhood without a television, but she added, “We played games. I was very happy.”

More money and business news:

• Want to make more on eBay? Make buyers see red
• Amazon offers workers chance to work elsewhere
• Listing of the Week: Hamptons set for B.I.G video
• Confusing drug discount cards can save you a bundle
• Video: Donald Trump on how to "steal" a house
• Sign up for our Business newsletter

Follow NBCNews.com business on Twitter and Facebook

Seth Perlman / AP

Steve Niedbalski shows his drought and heat stricken corn in Nashville, Ill. Farmers in parts of the Midwest are dealing with the worst drought in nearly 25 years.

Shoppers across the country should stand up and take notice of the Midwestern drought that has already hurt supplies of corn and soybeans.

The drought will lead to higher supermarket prices for everything from milk to meat. How high will depend on what happens with rain and high temperatures in the Corn Belt in the next few weeks.

“We’re at the cusp of seeing how severely this is going to impact consumer prices,” said Darrel Good, professor emeritus of agricultural and consumer economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The drought and heat, he said, have "already done permanent damage to the crops, but our concern is the outlook for the weather is not very good and we’re expecting a further deterioration.”

If that happens, he continued, “Prices will go up ever higher and have more severe and long-lasting impacts.”

In a twist that may sound counterintuitive, prices in the next few weeks for certain products may end up being major deals as a result of the drought.

For example, you may want to make room in your freezer for meat because prices for beef and pork are expected to drop in the next few months as farmers slaughter herds to deal with the high cost of grains that are used as livestock feed, said Shawn Hackett of the agricultural commodities firm Hackett Financial Advisors in Boynton Beach, Fla. But, he added, everything from milk to salad dressing is going to cost more in the near term, and eventually the meat deals will evaporate as demand outstrips supply. 

Agriculture experts and economists largely agree that the weather conditions are expected to hurt corn crops, and in turn will impact retail prices in the weeks ahead. But we won’t know the full impact of the drought until early August or September, said Richard Volpe, research economist for the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“We don’t yet know what’s going to happen and we don’t yet know how severe the drought will be and the amount we end up getting at the end of the corn harvest,” he stressed.

The USDA provides monthly estimates of food prices but the June data showing increases of less than 5 percent for key items such as dairy and meat products does not take the recent grain issues into account. Updated figures on the drought’s impact will be released July 25.

Volpe wouldn’t provide specific projections based on conditions now, but he did say price increases for milk, that were expected to be flat or decline this year, could head up “if there’s a major jump in feed prices.”

At this point, he added, “there’s been enough damage that we know we’re not going to have a record crop in field corn. Now the question is, how far below the record crop is this going to fall? What happens in next two weeks will drive what happens to corn and that will have an affect on all food prices.”

Field corn, also known as feed corn -- which is different from the sweet corn many of us eat during our barbecues -- is in about 74 percent of the foods consumers buy in supermarkets, he pointed out.

This year, corn supplies were expected to be more than ample because many growers in the Corn Belt -- including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota -- increased acreage of the crop to meet growing global demand, said John Riley, assistant extension professor at Mississippi State University. “But it will now fall short because of the drought and heat,” he noted.

The price for a bushel of corn hit $7.48 a bushel at the Chicago Board of Trade this week, and government figures now project this year and next that a bushel will be as much as $6.40 a bushel, up significantly from last month's projections of $4.20 to $5 a bushel.

The expected rise in food prices is nothing new for consumers. “Food price inflation in 2011 was well above normal,” explained Corinne Alexander, an agricultural economist at Purdue University. Grocery store food inflation was 4.8 percent last year, she said, and the expectations were of about 2 percent this year.

“The drought means above normal food price inflation in 2012, and going into 2013,” he noted.

While prices for processed foods such as cereal are not expected to rise considerably unless the shortages get much worse because producers had already instituted huge price hike last year, she continued.

But, she added, the cost of things like oil and salad dressing are likely to rise because soybean crops have also been impacted.

The food-price roller coaster is a scary ride consumers have been on for some time. There have been tight supplies going back to 2006, said Mississippi State’s Riley. “Weather events and a bump up in demand for corn for renewable fuel,” he explained, have all contributed to the problem.

When asked if consumers should start praying for rain, he said, “any rain moving forward is a blessing and is going to help, but I don’t know if it’s going to make it better.”

At $15 a pop for Tide in the 100 fluid ounce container, it's not surprising thieves across the country are scrubbing store shelves clean of the laundry detergent.

Earlier this month, a Tide robber from St. Paul stole $25,000 worth of the detergent and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and five years probation, according to a story in the Pioneer Press.

And a Maryland supermarket surveillance camera caught a suspect loading his car with 15 to 20 bottles of Tide, hauling them away, and then an accomplice selling the detergent to a nail salon. The footage was aired on an NBC affiliate in Los Angeles, which reported that national retailers such as CVS were taking extra security measures to keep “Tide tied down.”

And it’s not just Tide, the NBC story found. A spokesperson for Ralphs Grocery Stores, a California supermarket chain, said the thieves are also stealing Red Bull and shampoo.

It’s not surprising that thieves are expanding their target beyond cars and jewelry these days. The cost of many consumer goods has been steadily escalating in recent years.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for household cleaning products spiked 4.8 percent in 2009, the highest percentage increase since 2002; and prices have only trailed off slightly since.

Out of the entire retail industry, grocery stores and supermarkets have been the hardest hit by theft in recent years, said Joseph LaRocca, senior advisor/asset protection with the National Retail Federation. In 2001, the grocery and supermarket segment reported 1.42 percent of its merchandise was stolen annually. In 2010, the sector reported losing 3.12 percent of its products. 

Higher prices can lead some consumers to buy such products via illegal means, creating a market for stolen goods, said Michael Garry, technology and operations editor for Supermarket News.

For the past five years, organized retail crime rings have been on the rise in the supermarket industry, he explained. They steal from mass merchants and resell the goods at big discounts on the Internet, at flea markets, and on street corners. “It’s a billion dollar black market out there.”

Some law enforcement officials have tied the uptick in Tide thefts to the drug trade. One story by The Daily on Monday quoted Oregon police who said drug addicts were "feeding their habit" with the proceeds.

Big chains such as Safeway and Target, Supermarket News' Garry said, now have dedicated staff that deal with the issue and work with law enforcement in an effort to crack the rings. Big cases have been solved in Florida and Maryland, he added, where merchandise worth millions of dollars was recovered.

The products the rings go after have traditionally included infant formula, razor blades, over the counter medicines, electric toothbrushes and batteries. But Tide is new to the rip-off roster. 

No one at Procter & Gamble, the makers of Tide, could be immediately reached to comment on the rash of Tide thefts. A story in The Consumerist quoted a company spokesperson as saying, "We don't have any insight as to why the phenomenon is happening, but it is certainly unfortunate." 

Matthew Mead / AP

Putting a traditional turkey dinner on the table is going to be pricier this Thanksgiving.

By msnbc.com news services

Putting a traditional turkey dinner on the table is going to be pricier this Thanksgiving.

The American Farm Bureau Federation reports that a meal with turkey and all the trimmings will cost about 13 percent more this year.

The trade group estimates a classic meal for 10 will cost $49.20 on average. That is $5.73 more than last year's $43.47 average.
The meal will cost less than $5 a person, but it's still much more expensive than in years past. The jump results from food makers and grocers raising their prices to cover higher commodity costs.

Nearly everything from cranberries to pumpkin pie is pricier this year, but the biggest hike is for the main course: A 16-pound turkey costs almost $4 more this year, at $21.57, according to the trade group.

The group surveyed prices in stores nationwide. But grocers often discount key items as the holiday approaches and that could reduce the cost of Thanksgiving dinner.

John Anderson, senior economist for the Farm Bureau, said it's important to remember that Americans spend a smaller percentage of their income on food than most people around the world.

"Given what is going on in the economy, higher prices on anything are not welcome," Anderson said. "(But) it does not have the same impact as food prices in other parts of the world do. We are fortunate in that sense."

Here are some tips to save money on Thanksgiving. Share your own plans in the comments field below.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Bob Andres / AP

Prices for peanuts are skyrocketing, so shoppers will be seeing the cost of peanut butter soar soon.

Will moms be skipping the Skippy?

The price of peanut butter, that American lunch bag staple, is going up, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. The reason: peanut prices have skyrocketed after a hot, dry summer decimated the crop.

According to the Journal, the price for J.M. Smucker Co's Jif is going up 30 percent beginning in November and the price of Conagra's Peter Pan brand will rise 24 percent in the next few weeks. The paper said Unilever, which owns the Skippy brand, would not comment on pricing, but a spokesman for Wegman's Food Markets said it's paying up to 35 percent more for wholesale, including Skippy, than it did a year ago.

Prices for Kraft's Planter's brand will rise 40 percent at the end of the month.     

Americans may complain about the cost of living, but life is actually getting a bit cheaper here compared with the rest of the world, a new study finds.

None of the world's 40 most expensive cities are in the United States, with the top spots dominated by cities in Japan, Australia and western Europe, according to a semi-annual report by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Los Angeles, which somehow ranks as the most expensive U.S. city, is No. 41 on the global list, down from No. 24 six months ago. Chicago fell to No. 44 from 33, and New York is now less expensive than 48 other cities around the world, including Tel Aviv, Israel, and Dublin, Ireland, according to the report.

As anyone can confirm, the cost of living is not actually getting cheaper in the United States, but the global index is calculated in dollar terms, so the weakness of the dollar makes other cities relatively more expensive.

The Economist survey, mainly intended to calculate cost-of-living allowances for traveling business executives and expatriates, looks at the cost of living in 140 cities around the world, assessing prices of more than 160 items including food, clothing, transportation, utilities and "domestic help." The index factors in the cost of executive-level rental housing as well as sales taxes, but not income taxes or home sale prices.

(That might explain why Los Angeles is ranked as more expensive than New York.)

According to the Economist's calculations:

• A pack of Marlboros that costs $8.99 in New York goes for $15.11 in Oslo, Europe's costliest city.
• A loaf of bread that costs $2.36 in London is $6.48 in Paris (where it probably tastes better).
• A liter of "local" beer costs $6.89 in Tokyo and $1.94 in Berlin (where it probably tastes better).
• A two-course meal for two people should cost about $100 in Tokyo and $250 in New York. (So now you know how much to charge on your next expense report.)

Duncan Innes-Ker, a Beijing-based senior editor and economist for the Economist Intelligence Unit, said the index is most valuable in comparing the overall cost of living for executives considering relocation. By that basic measure London is 23 percent more expensive than New York and Tokyo is 61 percent more. (New York is the base city for the index.) Living in Karachi, Pakistan, costs less than half as much as New York for the same level of goods and services.

Here are the world's 10 costliest cities, according to the index:

1. Tokyo
2. Oslo
3. Osaka-Kobe, Japan
4. Paris
5. Zurich
6. Sydney, Australia
7. Melbourne, Australia
8. Frankfurt, Germany
9. Geneva, Switzerland
10. Singapore

And here are the 10 cheapest of 133 ranked cities:

133. Karachi, Pakistan (cheapest)
132. Tunis, Tunisia
131. Mumbai, India
130. Tehran, Iran
129. New Delhi, India
128. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
126. Algiers, Algeria
126. Panama City, Panama (tie)
124. Manila, Philippines
124. Dhaka, Bangladesh (tie)

The cost of doing your business is about to rise.

Citing rising raw material and energy costs, Kimberly-Clark said Thursday it is raising prices on diapers and toilet paper by as much as 7 percent. The cost increases will be phased in over the summer, so stock up now.

Brands affected by the increases include Cottonelle and Scott bathroom tissue, Huggies baby wipes and diapers, and Pull-Ups and GoodNites training diapers. Price changes vary by brand and pack size.

Are you starting to notice rising prices when you shop? You aren't imagining things. Americans paid more for food and energy in February, new data show. But outside those volatile categories, inflation overal was tame, the government said Thursday. 

Getting the family together for Thankgiving dinner? Priceless. The cost of the meal with all the fixin's? About 1.3 percent more expensive this year than in 2009.

For all the talk about low inflation, prices have started to creep up for many food items, including corn and milk, since Thanksgiving 2009.

The American Farm Bureau Federation, which calls itself "the voice of agriculture," says the average cost of this year's meal for 10 will be $43.47, 56 cents higher than last year's average of $42.91. It's a bit of a bargain, though, because it's still $1.14 cheaper than it was two years ago.

The main attraction of the feast, the bird, actually costs less this year, at $17.66 for a 16 pound turkey, according to the AFBF, which has been tracking the costs since 1986. But among the key items that cost more are: milk (up 38 cents to $3.24); a 30 ounce can of pumpkin pie filling (up 17 cents to $2.62); two nine-inch pie shells (up 12 cents to $2.46); and three pounds of sweet potatoes (up 7 cents to $3.19).

Of course, this all means nothing if you serve something like roast beef instead of turkey on Thankgiving. The average cost of prime rib is $5.29 a pound this year, up from $5.11 last year, a gain of 3.5 percent. Ouch!