UK grocery inflation down for fourth month in a row

British grocery inflation eased for a fourth month in a row in July, seeing its steepest decline since it peaked in March this year, industry data showed on Tuesday, providing a bit of relief for cash-strapped consumers suffering from high prices.

Market researcher Kantar said annual grocery inflation was 14.9% in the four weeks to July 9, falling 1.6 percentage points from the 16.5% in its June data set.”That will be good news for many households although, of course, the rate is still incredibly high,” Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar said.Prices are rising fastest in markets such as eggs, cooking sauces and frozen potato products.The Conservative government’s key pledge to halve inflation in 2023 ahead of a probable election in 2024 has been undermined by stubbornly high food inflation.Signs that it is abating are being closely watched by consumers, the Bank of England and lawmakers.Last month, market leader Tesco said food inflation had peaked and all of Britain’s major grocers have cut the prices of some products in recent weeks. New reductions were announced by Iceland Foods on Tuesday.

via Reuters