Food price inflation slows

The rate of food price inflation slowed to 11.5% in August, down from 13.4% in July. The deceleration is the fourth consecutive one recorded by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), and its lowest rate since September 2022.

Shop price annual inflation decelerated further to 6.9% in August, down from 7.6% the previous month, meaning that price growth is at its lowest since October 2022, the BRC added.

Helen Dickinson OBE, BRC chief executive, said the change “was driven by falling food inflation, particularly for products such as meat, potatoes and some cooking oils. These figures would have been lower still had the government not increased alcohol duties earlier this month.”

The news of the slowed growth in the food inflation rate came as a survey by the Which? consumer association found that food prices were now as much a concern for consumers as energy bills, with almost nine in 10 respondents reporting being worried about the cost of groceries.

The same survey also found that less than half of the 2,000 adults surveyed said they trusted the supermarket sector to act in their best interest, while nearly one in five said they did not trust the sector.