As per a survey on Tuesday, shop price inflation slowed down this month in Britain, offering much-needed relief to households already tackling the surging cost of living and higher borrowing costs.
The British Retail Consortium’s data revealed that prices at supermarkets and retail chains spiked by 8.4% in June compared to the same month a year ago, which was slower than May’s 9.0% annual increase, which was the biggest increase since the BRC began keeping statistics in 2005.
After the BRC reported a slight decrease in April, shop price inflation dropped for the second time this year.
Although food prices surged slowly for the second time in a row, it was still a huge burden on the households of many families as food inflation increased to 14.6%.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson stated, “If the current situation continues, food inflation should drop to single digits later this year.”
She further stated that retailers have relaxed the prices of staples such as cheese, eggs, and milk, and the prices of goods like clothes and electricity have also dropped drastically.
Britain’s biggest retail giant, Tesco, stated earlier this month that food inflation had surged to its peak.
Last week, the Bank of England increased the interest rate to its highest level since 2008, bringing the Bank Rate to 5% as the fight against inflation has dropped more than anticipated.
“If global supply chain costs continue to fall, we may now be past the peak of price increases,” the Head of Retail and Business Insight at NielsenIQ, which co-produces the data, Mike Watkins, stated.
“However, with most households needing to save money, purchasing behavior for the rest of this year is still likely to shift towards essential needs with discretionary consumption being de-prioritised or delayed.”
The price data was collected between June 1 and 7 by the BRC.
- Published By Team Timeswire