http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Dispatch/market-dispatches.aspx?post=1236196&_blg=1,1236196Beer prices are going up
Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors say they will raise prices.
Posted by Elizabeth Strott on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 8:37 AM
Beer drinkers, get ready to shell out more for a Bud: Anheuser-Busch InBev (AHBIY) is boosting the price of its brews.
The increases will occur later this year and will cover "different price tiers," the company told The Wall Street Journal late Tuesday.
"We do plan on taking prices up in the fall on the majority of our volume in the majority of the U.S.," Dave Peacock, president of Anheuser-Busch InBev's U.S. division, told the paper. "The environment is very favorable, we think."
Rival MillerCoors also plans price increases. "We have seen very strong pricing to date this year, and we are projecting a favorable pricing environment moving forward," Brad Schwartz, the vice president of revenue management and sales development at MillerCoors, told the Journal. MillerCoors is a joint venture of Molson Coors (TAP) and SABMiller (SBMRF).
Neither company said how big the price increases would be.
Beer prices in the U.S. have been rising despite the recession. In July, the price of beer, ale and other malt beverages sold for consumption at home had risen 4.6% from July 2008, according to the Labor Department's Consumer Price Index. The year before, prices rose 5.3%.
Meanwhile, distilled spirits rose 2%, and wine was up 1.6% in July. Consumer prices overall were down 2.1% in July, the biggest year-over-year drop since 1950.
Belgian InBev bought Anheuser-Busch last year.
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