(Bloomberg) -- Six months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent wheat prices to a record, the cost for flour and prepared flour mixes is surging by the most ever, putting increasing pressure on already elevated inflation.

Consumer prices surged again in August, with both the core and headline figures topping forecasts, according to a Labor Department report Tuesday, despite relief at the gasoline pump. A primary culprit continues to be food. The cost of eating at home soared 13.5% from a year ago, the largest increase since March 1979.

Aside from just flour, spikes in bakery products like bread, muffins, cupcakes and cookies are also at historical highs. That’s exacerbating the pain for American consumers, who have been squeezed by soaring housing and medical costs, and could dampen demand for discretionary categories like holiday shopping.

Egg prices shot up almost 40% in August from a year ago — the biggest jump since 2007 — while fruits and vegetables increased 9.4%, and dairy and related products saw a 16.2% gain.

Read more: Holiday baking could get pricier as butter climbs to record

Relief for flour prices may be coming soon. Flour lags the wheat market, where benchmark futures have retreated to $8.65 a bushel, down from their record in March of nearly $13. Any price declines into year-end will be welcome news for consumers when holiday baking of cookies, cakes and pies kicks into high gear.

Packaged-food companies haven’t discussed further price increases beyond the current wave, according to Ken Goldman, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co. “So it is possible that incremental price hikes begin to taper off this fall,’’ according to a note on Tuesday.

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