Store price inflation “returned to normal levels” in the United Kingdom in May, thanks in particular to a slowdown in food inflation, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) estimated on Tuesday.
Store price inflation slowed to 0.6% year-on-year in May, compared to 0.8% in April “at its lowest level since November 2021”, the BRC said in a press release.
“This was helped by the slowdown in food inflation”, with the rise in prices of fresh produce which also “fell to the lowest since November 2021”, noted Helen Dickinson, general director of the federation, cited in the press release.
According to the monthly BRC-NielsenIQ store price index, food inflation slowed to 3.2% in May, compared to 3.4% in April. Non-food goods, for their part, saw prices fall over one year, by 0.8% in May (-0.6% the previous month).
British inflation marked a sharp slowdown in April, falling to 2.3% year-on-year, the lowest since July 2021, according to official data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Retail sales also fell last month, falling more than expected while rainy weather reduced footfall in stores, the ONS said on Friday.
This article is originally published on laliberte.ch
