Food price inflation is steadily decreasing according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), sitting at its lowest since July 2022.
The retailer trade association BRC showed that food inflation decelerated to 9.9% in September, down from 11.5% in August. This was the lowest it had been since August 2022, and marked the fifth consecutive deceleration in the food category.
The rate of Shop Price inflation also decreased, slowing to 6.2% in September from its August rate of 6.9%. This is the lowest it has been since September 2022.
Fresh food inflation slowed further in September to 9.6%, down from 11.6% in August.
Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at NielsenIQ, said: “With further price cuts by supermarkets in recent weeks, food inflation continues to slow which is good news.
“However, there continues to be pressure on budgets, with over half of households still feeling that they are significantly impacted by the continued increases in cost of living (NIQ Mid-Year Consumer Outlook).
“So, it will be important for retail sales to keep momentum which means we can expect more price cuts and increased promotional activity across all retail channels.”
Helen Dickinson, OBE, chief executive of the BRC, said: “Food prices dropped on the previous month for the first time in over two years because of fierce competition between retailers. This brought year-on-year food inflation down to single digits and contributed to the fifth consecutive monthly fall in the headline rate, helped by easing cost pressures.
“We expect Shop Price Inflation to continue to fall over the rest of the year, however there are still many risks to this trend – high interest rates, climbing oil prices, global shortages of sugar, as well as the supply chain disruption from the war in Ukraine."
All inflation rates reported by BRC were below the three-month average, indicating a steady decline in costs.
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