Shop price inflation in the UK hit its lowest level in a year, as food prices fell, according to the latest British Retail Consortium-NielsenIQ tracker.
The survey showed that the annual shop price inflation rate cooled to 6.2% in September, from 6.9% in August, falling for the fifth consecutive month in September.
Non-food inflation eased to 4.4% in September from 4.7% in August, while food inflation decelerated to 9.9% from 11.5%, hitting single digits for the first time since August last year and down from an all-time peak of 15.7%.
The BRC reported that food prices fell by 0.1% between August and September in the first month-on-month drop for more than two years, which the trade body attributed to “fierce competition between retailers”.
“Customers who bought dairy, margarine, fish and vegetables — all typically own-brand lines — will have found lower prices compared to last month,” said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium.