For the first time in almost two years, UK food prices declined in September, according to data.
According to the British Retail Consortium, supermarket competition is strong, and the average food basket has decreased by 0.1%.
According to retail sector statistics, food costs decreased in the United Kingdom in the month of September for the very first time in over two years, giving customers some relief from the country’s rising cost of living.
According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), severe supermarket rivalry and price cuts on dairy, margarine, fish, and vegetables all contributed to a 0.1% decrease in the average price of a food basket as compared to the prior month.
It stated this was the first monthly decline since July 2021, indicating a peak in the skyrocketing inflation of food prices. Yet despite the fact that overall food costs are still 9.9% more expensive than they were a year ago, the cost of numerous household essentials keeps rising.
According to the BRC, the monthly decrease in median food prices contributed to September’s total shop price inflation rate falling to 6.2% from 6.9% in August, the lowest level since September 2022.
According to the report, consumers purchasing supermarket own-brand food goods would have paid less last month compared to the deals offered in August. Additionally, there were price reductions for uniforms for students and other back-to-school necessities.
The Bank of England paused its most aggressive set of interest rate rises in decades and maintained borrowing prices in September after statutory inflation numbers unexpectedly indicated a fall. The figures were issued in the wake of that decision.
The UK’s Office for National Statistics reports that the annual inflation rate for the UK decreased to 6.7% in Aug from 6.8% just over a month earlier. The Bank and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt had anticipated a minor increase due to the rising cost of gasoline and diesel.
Following the Russian invasion of the Ukraine sparked a rise in energy prices, driving up the cost of manufacturing and delivering food, food prices have skyrocketed. The conflict also caused a disruption in the distribution of cereals, fertilizer, and other agricultural products to the remaining parts of the world.
Food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation in the UK reached a record in March at 19.1%, the fastest yearly rate since 1977, according to official statistics. Although it has decreased recently, the metric was still historically high in August at 13.6%.