UK GROCERY inflation slowed to 3.0 per cent in the four weeks to June 14, researcher Worldpanel by Numerator said on Tuesday, easing concerns that the conflict involving Iran was pushing up prices on UK supermarket shelves.
Grocery inflation stood at 3.1 per cent in last month's report and 3.8 per cent in the previous one.
The Worldpanel data provides the latest snapshot of UK consumer behaviour and offers an early indication of food pricing pressures in June ahead of official data due on July 22.
The data showed UK grocery sales rose 2.4 per cent year-on-year in the four weeks to June 14, indicating shoppers bought fewer goods after inflation is taken into account, despite higher sales of summer staples such as sun care products and beef burgers during a ten-day heatwave.
Worldpanel said prices increased fastest for products including fresh fish and skin care, while prices fell fastest for butter, spreads and soft drinks.
Last week, industry leader Tesco said Iran war-driven inflation "hasn't materialised as an issue" so far and repeated that it did not recognise a Food and Drink Federation warning that food prices will rise by almost 10 per cent by December.
Tesco said its own rate of food inflation was running below the official May rate of 2.2 per cent.
However, the British Retail Consortium, which represents major grocers, expects food inflation to increase over the coming months, reflecting higher input costs resulting from the conflict.
Worldpanel said shoppers continued to rely on promotions to keep their bills down, with 30.4 per cent of all sales made through some form of deal.
Over the 12 weeks to June 14, Tesco's sales growth slowed to 1.2 per cent and its market share edged down by 10 basis points. Sales at number two player Sainsbury's rose 2.0 per cent, with its market share edging up by 10 basis points.
Discounter Lidl GB remained the fastest-growing bricks-and-mortar grocer in the researcher's data set, with sales up 8.6 per cent, while online supermarket Ocado remained the fastest-growing overall, with sales increasing 13.5 per cent.
Number three player Asda continued to lose market share.
Tags: UK grocery inflation, Tesco, supermarket prices, cost of living
