The U.S. Agriculture Department expects unusually tame food-price inflation this year despite a broad rally in agricultural commodity prices this summer, the agency said Wednesday.

The USDA now forecasts that the consumer-price index for food will climb between 0.5% and 1.5% this year, which would be the smallest increase since 1992.

The inability of the U.S. economy to pick up steam prompted the USDA to lower its forecast by one percentage point from the range of 1.5% to 2.5% it calculated a month ago.

"The economy is weaker than what I thought in July," said Ephraim Leibtag, the USDA economist responsible for the forecast. "Food companies are taking a wait-and-see attitude about passing along commodity costs."

Read more: The Wall Street Journal

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