Are egg prices actually down after soaring to record highs? We've just heard Donald Trump's Treasury secretary Scott Bessent claim that egg prices are down 50% - but is that really the case? The price of eggs in the US has skyrocketed this year, and even reached a record high last month. It comes after Trump declared last month that egg prices were "down 35%". But the cost of eggs is still up 75% in the last 12 months compared to six other staple grocery items - chicken, orange juice, beef mince, bacon and bread - according to Sky News' US partner network, NBC News. The average price for a dozen eggs reached $6.23 (£4.82) in March, despite a drop in wholesale prices and no egg farms having outbreaks of bird flu. The country has been experiencing record-high prices since the beginning of the year, hitting $5.90 in February, according to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics, more than double the long-term average of $2 (£1.54). Why are egg prices so high? One of the main reasons behind the price rise is the outbreak of avian flu, also known as bird flu, which the US has been grappling with since 2022. This year alone, one person has died and farmers have been forced to slaughter more than 30 million egg-laying birds - partly down to a federal government policy that requires farmers to kill their entire flocks any time a bird gets sick. More than 166 million birds have been killed since the outbreak began three years ago. Increased demand, increased price As the threat of bird flu rose, so did the demand for eggs, which in turn caused the prices to rise. At the beginning of the year, eggs reached a then record $4.95 (£3.86) per dozen, according to data from the Bureau of Labour Statistics. In some parts of the country, prices went even higher, with Sky News' US partner NBC reporting a peak of $8.64. Others had to pay $10 (£7.74), while the Associated Press said in California the price per dozen topped $12 (£9.29) in some shops. To deal with the rising costs, some restaurants, including the Denny's and Waffle House chains, added surcharges to eggs on their menus.