Shop price inflation edges higher - BRC

Shop price inflation nudged higher in May, industry data showed on Tuesday, despite some food price rises starting to slow.

According to the latest BRC-NielsenIQ index, annual shop price inflation accelerated to a fresh high of 9.0% in May, from 8.8% in April.

Within that, food price inflation - which has reached record highs in recent months - nudged marginally lower, falling to 15.4% from 15.7% a month previously. Non-food inflation edged higher, however, to 5.8% from 5.5%.

Fresh food inflation was 17.2%, still at historic highs but down on April’s 17.8%. In contrast, ambient food inflation rose to 13.1% from 12.9%, with the price of coffee and chocolate rising in response to higher global costs for both commodities.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: "While overall shop price inflation rose slightly in May, households will welcome food inflation beginning to fall.

"The slow in inflation was largely driven by lower energy and commodity costs starting to filter through to the lower price of some staples, including butter, milk, fruit and fish.

"Fierce competition between supermarkets has helped keep British food among the cheapest of the large European economies."

Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at NielsenIQ, said: "To help mitigate the impact of inflation, shoppers are saving money by looking for seasonal promotions on the high street and taking advantage of price reductions offered by supermarket loyalty schemes."