UK Shop Price Inflation Weakest Since Late 2021: BRC

Source: FinanzNachrichten.de

LONDON (dpa-AFX) - UK shop price inflation weakened in May to the lowest since November 2021 as non-food prices continued to decline, data from the British Retail Consortium and the market research firm NielsenIQ showed on Tuesday.

The shop price index posted an annual increase of 0.6 percent in May after a 0.8 percent gain in April. This was the slowest growth since November 2021.

Non-food prices declined 0.8 percent after a 0.6 percent drop. At the same time, the annual growth in food inflation decelerated to 3.2 percent from 3.4 percent in April.

Fresh food inflation eased further in May, to 2.0 percent from 2.4 percent in the previous month. Ambient food inflation softened to 4.8 percent from 4.9 percent.

Shop price inflation returned to normal levels, BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said.

In non-food, retailers lowered furniture prices to revive subdued consumer demand for big-ticket items, and football fans have been able to grab some bargains on TVs and other audio-visual equipment ahead of this summer's Euros, Dickinson noted.

'Across the industry whilst inflationary pressure has eased and there is some improvement in shopper sentiment, the unseasonable weather has dampened retail sales so lower prices look set to continue and promotional activity is likely to increase drive demand,' NielsenIQ Head of Retailer and Business Insight Mike Watkins said.

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