UK shop price inflation at 10-month low: BRC
PRICES in British store chains rose in August at the slowest pace in nearly a year, according to industry data that offers further relief for consumers hit by high inflation and for the Bank of England which is trying to quash it.
The British Retail Consortium said annual shop price inflation cooled to 6.9 per cent in August, its lowest since October 2022, weakening from 7.6 per cent in July.
Food price inflation fell to 11.5 per cent from July’s 13.4 per cent, driven by slower increases for meat, potatoes and some cooking oils.
Non-food inflation held at 4.7 per cent.
“These figures would have been lower still had the government not increased alcohol duties earlier this month,” BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said.
Prices rose in month-on-month terms by 0.5 per cent having fallen the first time in two years in July from June.
The BRC’s inflation measure captures prices of goods sold in store and is seen as an early signal for the broader official consumer price index which has fallen from a peak of over 11 per cent last October to 6.8 per cent in July.
However, inflation remains more than three times the BoE’s target and investors expect a 15th back-to-back increase in interest rates to 5.5 per cent from 5.25 per cent on Sept 21 after the Monetary Policy Committee’s next scheduled meeting. REUTERS
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