Prices held stable despite conflict in Middle East
Responding to the latest CPI inflation figures, which show headline inflation falling slightly to 2.8% and food inflation falling to 3.0%, Harvir Dhillon, economist at the British Retail Consortium, said: “Shoppers will breathe a sigh of relief as both headline and food inflation eased this month. Despite the ongoing cost pressures resulting from the Iran conflict, intense competition across the retail sector has successfully helped to stem inflation in the short-term. In the clothing sector, there were significant deals, with the prices of accessories falling over the last month; while those with a sweet tooth will be pleased to see the price of cocoa and powdered chocolate falling by 2.2%.
“Retailers are already battling a wave of additional costs, from rising utilities to the National Living Wage and Employer NICs, meaning they cannot absorb these pressures indefinitely. To mitigate these pressures and help bring down prices for consumers, the Government must pursue credible and pragmatic measures which reduce costs for businesses. This should include targeting support towards retailers by addressing the non-commodity charges which make up over two-thirds of retailers’ energy bills, as well as cutting regulatory burdens which increase operational costs for businesses across the sector.”