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British store chains raised their prices a bit more quickly this month and the Iran war risks further pushing up inflation, a retail industry group said on Tuesday.
Shop price inflation edged up to 1.2% in the 12 months to March, above the 1.1% increase in February but below its three-month average of 1.3%, the British Retail Consortium said
“Higher costs resulting from the conflict in the Middle East are starting to feed into supply chains. While retailers will work with their suppliers to mitigate the impact on prices as far as possible, inflation will rise,” BRC’s Chief Executive Helen Dickinson said.
Below are more details from the survey and related context:
- Food inflation of 3.4% in annual terms in March was down from 3.5% a month earlier as prices of dairy fell
- Prices for non-food items rose by 0.1% after falling by 0.1% in the 12 months to February
- New labour market and healthy foods laws could also increase retailers’ costs and push up inflation, the BRC said
- The Bank of England is keeping a close eye on food prices as it believes they influence public inflation expectations, which rose to their highest since 2023 in March
- The BRC survey was conducted between March 1 and March 7, shortly after the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran started
