The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday, Jan. 31, edition that when Metro reported its quarterly results last week, its shares sank more than 5 per cent, casting further doubt on a rally that has been sputtering over the past six months. The Globe's David Berman writes that while Loblaw's share price remains near record highs ahead of its quarterly results next month, others have felt the pull of gravity. Metro's latest quarterly financial results, released last week, add a lot of what-have-yous to the case for diving into grocery stocks when food prices are rising. Like, maybe inflation is not so great for grocers after all? Metro chief executive officer Eric La Fleche said last week the grocer is navigating a "challenging environment" marked by "persistent food inflation." He said: "We're negotiating as much as we can. Some of it is justified by commodity prices -- chocolate, coffee, you name it. There are inflationary pressures that some of our suppliers are facing and trying to push or transfer to us." According to a survey of nearly 100 grocery industry insiders by CIBC, 70 per cent of respondents expect that food inflation will persist at a level in the range of 3 per cent to 4 per cent.