Egg prices are soaring, breaking new records as the bird flu outbreak grows. Why it matters: No food item has been as much of an inflation poster child like eggs, and their prices often give a clue about the economic environment.

Amid the ongoing outbreak of bird flu, which has affected millions of egg-laying hens, prices for eggs have skyrocketed across the United States.

The shortfall has sent egg prices everywhere rocketing in a trend that has accelerated during the holidays. At Pete’s, co-owner Lindsay Timpson said the restaurant paid $43 for a case of eggs a year ago. As of Monday, they were paying $128. In a six-day stretch in December, prices rose 35%.

Egg prices rose to a record high in the U.S. recently, hitting $5.27 a carton. Egg prices will remain high this winter as bird flu cases continue to be detected across Iowa and other major egg-producing states.

Bird flu continues to play a part in higher egg prices in California. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in a Dec. 27 report, said a dozen large shell eggs in the state rose to $8.97.

Egg prices across northern Nevada have soared in recent weeks, mirroring a recent nationwide trend driven by holiday demand and the avian flu.A News 4-Fox 11 cr

California egg prices continue to climb due to ongoing outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza. December's statewide average for a dozen large shell eggs reached nearly $9, per a U.S. Department of Agriculture report.