UK shop prices race upwards to new highs according to the BRC

UK shop prices have raced to a new high according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) in a report released Wednesday, September 28.

The BRC said that price rises in shops and supermarkets had risen to their highest level since records began back in 2005, increasing to 5.7 per cent from August’s 5.1 per cent.

Speaking on behalf of the industry, the BRC said that the increase had been led by food prices which had risen by 10.6 per cent on the back of the war in Ukraine.

Inflated costs of key raw materials such as fertiliser, animal feed and vegetable oils had the BRC said, pushed the cost of food production upwards.

NielsenIQ, the market research firm who co-produce the report, said the number of consumers expecting to curtail expenditure had risen from 57 per cent in the summer to 76 per cent. Respondents to the survey were asked whether they expected to be affected by the cost-of-living crisis over the next three months.

Mike Watkins, NielsenIQ’s Head of Retailer and Business Insight, said: “So households will be looking for savings to help manage their personal finances this autumn and we expect shoppers to become more cautious about discretionary spend, adding to pressure in the retail sector.”

The consumer price index produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) covers a broader range of products than the BRC survey. By its measure inflation hit a 40-year high of 10.1per cent in July before easing back to 9.9 per cent in August.

Although the expectation was that inflation would ease with the measures introduced by the new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, the mini-budget presented by Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng unpicked any positive improvement.

The mini-budget with its tax cuts and high borrowings pushed the pound down by nearly eight per cent, which will further add to the import element of inflation.

That could see UK shop prices race to even more new highs in October.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article, do remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories and remember, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.