Lithium and alkaline batteries have rocketed in price due to inflation

AA Lithium batteries in a northwest Target store are $3 each when bought in a pack of 6 or 8.

Target used to sell 12 packs of AA Lithium, but I didn't see them anymore in the battery section. They used to run around $20 before Covid and government inflation.

And pricing for AAA lithium batteries is also steep. Here's a 6 pack for $12.59.

That's $2.10 per battery.

These prices are making me wish that rechargeable batteries were more robust. I use AA and AAA batteries in high drain devices like audio recorders, but rechargeable batteries were unreliable and seemed to last only 50-75% of the life of their alkaline counterparts. 

Alkaline batteries have also skyrocketed in price and now cost $1 per battery, unless you buy them in mega size packs (around 40 batteries) at Costco.

This 20 pack of alkaline batteries for $20 is found at a northwest Target.