Food inflation has slowed for the 12th consecutive month to its lowest level since March 2022.
The figure fell to 3.4% in April, down from 3.7% in March which is below the three-month average rate of 3.9%, according to the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said that food inflation slowed as “fresh products such as butter, fish and fruits, continued to fall in price due to easing input costs and intense competition between grocers”.
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Fresh food inflation decelerated further in April to 2.4%, down from 2.6% the month before – the lowest level since November 2021 – while ambient food inflation slowed to 4.9%, down from 5.2% in March.
Shop price annual inflation also eased to 0.8% as Dickinson said that levels are “showing signs of normalising”.
While she said that “consumers will welcome the lower shop price inflation,” Dickinson added that “geopolitical tensions and the knock-on impact on commodity prices, like oil, pose a threat to future price stability.
“Retailers will continue to do all they can to keep prices down, but Government has a role to play with pro-growth policies that allow businesses to invest in the customer offer.”
NIQ head of retailer and business insight Mike Watkins added: “To help shoppers manage household budgets, retailers continue to promote and this provides further savings and we expect this to continue to help drive overall demand.”
