Food inflation accelerated in August as rising input, energy and commodity costs continued to feed through into grocery prices.

Grocery prices rose 2.8 per cent year on year during the month, up from 2.2 per cent in July and ahead of the three-month average of 2.5 per cent, according to the latest shop price figures.

Fresh food inflation edged down slightly to 3.0 per cent, from 3.1 per cent in July, matching its three-month average, while ambient food recorded the sharpest increase across the category.

Ambient food inflation rose to 2.5 per cent year on year in August from 1.1 per cent the previous month, also coming in above the three-month average of 1.8 per cent.

Across the wider retail sector, shop price inflation climbed to 1.5 per cent year on year in August, up from 0.9 per cent in July, while non-food inflation accelerated to 0.9 per cent from 0.2 per cent as electrical prices increased and retailers kept clothing prices low ahead of the new school year.

British Retail Consortium chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “Shop price inflation rose to its highest level in over two years, albeit well below the headline Consumer Price Index. The impact of higher energy, input and commodity costs is beginning to filter through into prices, particularly for ambient foods which are typically imported and processed.”

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Dickinson warned that the months ahead looked challenging for households, with rising bills putting further pressure on budgets, while retailers continued to face persistently high operating costs.

“If the Government is serious about supporting growth while keeping the cost of living in check, it must address the cost of doing business, including by tackling the growing burden of business rates, packaging and employment taxes,” she said.

NIQ head of retailer and business insight Mike Watkins added: “While the increase in both food and non-food inflation is not unexpected, particularly as some of the summer promotional activity seen in recent months comes to an end, retailers continue to keep prices low, helping consumers manage rising household costs such as energy and fuel. However, pressures are continuing to build across supply chains, and we can expect price competition to intensify as we move into the autumn months.”