UK annual shop price inflation including food slows in November

UK shop price inflation slowed in November while prices of non-food items fell, data published by the British Retail Consortium and NielsenIQ showed Tuesday.

Annual shop price inflation was 0.6% in November, slowed from 1.0% in October and below the three-month average of 1.0%.

Notably, non-food prices fell 0.6% on-year in November, accelerated from a decline of 0.4% in October and faster than the three-month average of a fall of 0.3%.

Food inflation decelerated to 3.0% in November from 3.7% in October, below the three-month average of 3.7%.

Fresh food inflation slowed to 3.6% in November from 4.3% in October, below the three-month average of 4.0%.

Meanwhile, ambient food inflation slowed to 2.4% in November from 2.9% in October, and was below the three-month average of 3.2%.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: "Black Friday deals began earlier than normal as competition between retailers hit fever pitch. Savvy shoppers picked up some great deals across health & beauty, electricals and fashion. While food price inflation remains elevated, widespread promotions meant price rises eased over the month, especially in dairy, fruit, breads, and cereals.

"Inflation remained stubbornly high for oils and fats, and meat and fish, as climbing input costs passed through from producers. With budget uncertainty behind us, retailers are hoping that consumer confidence rebounds in this crucial trading period and they will continue doing everything they can to keep prices down and help customers' money go further this Christmas.

"Headwinds in the new year include rising employment costs which are likely to filter through to prices. This could shake already weak consumer confidence and present further challenges for consumers in the year ahead."

Mike Watkins, head of Retailer & Business Insight at NielsenIQ, said: "It's good news for shoppers that price increases are slowing but inflationary pressures still remain, in particular within food. The UK retail market is very competitive so retailers will need to keep any price increases as low as possible in the run up to Christmas, in order to entice shoppers to spend."