UK shop price inflation was unchanged at 4.3% in December, its lowest in 18 months, but the British Retail Consortium warned on Tuesday that cost pressures threaten to put an end to easing inflation in 2024.
The BRC-NielsenIQ shop price index was up 4.3% in December from a year before, the annual rise slower than the three-month average rate of 4.6% and the lowest since June 2022. The index was compiled from data collected in the first week of December.
Food price inflation slowed to 6.7% last month from 7.8% in November. Fresh food price rose by 5.4% annually in December, slowing from 6.7% the month before, while ambient food inflation slowed to 8.4% from 9.2%.
However, non-food price inflation picked up to 3.1% in December from 2.5% in November. This still was the slowest for the category since September 2022, BRC noted.
On a monthly basis, overall shop prices in the UK were up 0.4% in December from November, led by a 0.5% rise in non-food prices, while food prices were unchanged.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson explained that non-food prices rose in December, after retailers invested in discounting for the Black Friday event in November and before the January sales.
“Retailers will continue to do all they can to keep prices down in 2024, but there are obstacles on the road ahead,” Dickinson said. “New border checks for EU imports, hundreds of millions more on business rates bills from April.”
