UK food inflation dips to lowest monthly rate since August 2022

Overall food inflation declined to 9.9 percent in the United Kingdom in September 2023, down from 11.5 percent in August, while fresh food inflation fell from 11.6 percent in August to 9.6 percent in September, according to the British Retail Consortium and Nielsen IQ.

Inflation on ambient food items such as canned seafood decelerated to 10.4 percent in September, down from 11.3 percent in August, the lowest since November 2022. U.K. food inflation is the lowest it has been since August 2022, and even though fresh food inflation remains elevated, it is below the three-month average, BRC and Nielsen IQ said.

“Food prices dropped on the previous month for the first time in over two years because of fierce competition between retailers. This brought year-on-year food inflation down to single digits and contributed to the fifth consecutive monthly fall in the headline rate, helped by easing cost pressures,” BRC Chief Executive  Helen Dickinson said.

Welwyn Garden City, U.K.-based Tesco, along with several other grocery chains, have announced additional price cuts through the end of the year. In September, Tesco locked in the price of more than 1,000 everyday products until 2024 and that it would match Aldi’s price of more than 600 staple goods.

“We know that this has been a year of budgeting carefully for shoppers, with customers wanting to make sure they are getting great value on their shop,” Tesco UK CEO Jason Terry said at the time. “By locking more than 1,000 prices, our customers know exactly how much they will pay for those items today, at Halloween, at Christmas, and into 2024.”

Tesco has benefitted from a variety of …

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