Steadying food inflation rate set to help shoppers

FOOD prices stabilised last month as the cost of raw materials and crude oil declined, providing some relief to under-pressure consumers.

Today’s latest shop price index, published by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and data analyst Nielsen, shows the UK’s annual food inflation rate holding steady at 4.3 per cent in May, unchanged from April’s figure.

However, the overall rate of shop price inflation edged up to 1.5 per cent, from 1.3 per cent in April, with the marginal rise being driven by non-food products.

The official measure of inflation – the consumer prices index – fell to 3 per cent in April, a 26-month low, as high street discounting took the pressure off households.

Stephen Robertson, BRC director-general, said: “Food inflation held steady as easing commodity prices helped combat rising property and distribution costs.

“There’s still a possibility of future supply shocks but the outlook for inflation looks set to remain at modest levels.

“Apart from a blip in March, food inflation’s been stable since last October.”

Food price inflation jumped in March as oil prices were driven higher by fears over escalating tension between the West and Iran.

Families have been battling with high inflation and sluggish wage growth, which in turn has hit the retail sector.

The BRC noted that sugar and coffee showed double-digit declines in May, which fed through to non-alcoholic beverages.