UK shop price inflation decelerated in April while there were signs food price inflation may be easing, according to data from the British Retail Consortium.
Shop price inflation slowed slightly to 8.8% in April on an annual basis, from 8.9% in March although this was above the 3-month average rate of 8.7%, the BRC said.
Against the previous month, shop price inflation decelerated to 0.2% in April from 0.8% in March.
But food inflation accelerated to 15.7% on an annual basis in April, from 15.0% in March although there was some signs growth may be easing.
"Overall shop price inflation eased slightly in April due to heavy Spring discounting in clothing, footwear, and furniture," said BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson.
"However, food prices remained elevated given ongoing cost pressures throughout supply chain. The knock-on effect from increased production and packaging costs meant that ready meals became more expensive and coffee prices were also up due to the high cost of coffee beans, as well as key producer nations exporting less."
But BRC economist Harvir Dhillon said: “Food prices do look like they’re decelerating – seeing the slowest monthly growth since May 2022.”
Today at @the_brc we published the latest Shop Price Inflation report, covering the month of April
Shop prices expected to have peaked ???? pic.twitter.com/mEvlA3kb01
— Harvir Dhillon (@HarvirDhillon) May 2, 2023
Dickinson added: “We should start to see food prices come down in the coming months as the cut to wholesale prices and other cost pressures filter through.”
Victoria Scholar at interactive investor commented: “While inflation remains elevated, there are incipient signs that price pressures are starting to cool.”
“The hope is that food prices will come down in the months ahead, although it is more likely that price growth will just slow instead in the near-term as consumers continue to feel the squeeze from rising weekly food bills,” she added.