British grocery inflation nudged down to stand at five per cent over the four weeks to 10 August, data from market researcher Worldpanel by Numerator showed on Tuesday (19), providing a little relief for consumers.
The figure, the most up-to-date snapshot of UK food inflation, compared with 5.2 per cent in last month’s report.
“We’ve seen a marginal drop in grocery price inflation this month, but we’re still well past the point at which price rises really start to bite and consumers are continuing to adapt their behaviour to make ends meet,” Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel, said.
The researcher said prices were rising fastest in markets such as chocolate, fresh meat and coffee and falling fastest in champagne and sparkling wine, dog food and sugar confectionery.
Britain’s food retailers have said that higher employer taxes and regulatory costs as well as increased staff wages are adding to inflationary pressure from higher prices for commodities.
Trade body the British Retail Consortium, which represents Britain’s biggest retailers, predicts that food inflation will hit 6 per cent by the end of the year, putting more pressure on household budgets in the run-up to Christmas.
The Bank of England has forecast it will hit 5.5 per cent before Christmas and then fall back as global wholesale factors fade.
Official UK inflation data for July will be published on Wednesday. (Reuters)
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