The Bank of England’s governor on Thursday accused retailers of profiteering during the cost-of-living crisis.
Andrew Bailey said some were “overcharging customers” as millions of families struggle to make ends meet.
He added that “moves by regulators on retail prices will help to lower inflation”, particularly in the fuel market.
The governor said: “That’s important. It helps us with inflation, but it’s just fairer if these things are tackled. This is having very difficult effects.”
The Government has announced that supermarkets and other fuel retailers are to be made to publish live prices. The plan came after research found that motorists paid an extra 6p per litre for fuel at supermarkets last year, amid weak competition in this sector.
Speaking on CBBC’s Newsround programme this morning, Mr Bailey said: “There is evidence some retailers are overcharging customers.”
Faced with warnings that interest rates could rise as high as seven per cent to control inflation, the governor added: “I can’t give you a date as to when interest rates start to come down because that really depends upon what happens over the period of time ahead, but getting inflation down is the most important thing that we have to do.
“It (inflation) has already started to come down and I expect ... quite a marked fall in inflation, we’ll notice it. What we have to do is set the interest rate to get it all the way down to two per cent.”
Inflation was 8.7 per cent in May, the same figure as a month earlier.
The Bank of England base rate is five per cent having risen 13 times in a row.
Meanwhile, banking chiefs were meeting the Financial Conduct Authority today to discuss concerns surrounding interest rates for savers lagging behind the cost of mortgages. Bosses from HSBC, NatWest, Lloyds and Barclays were expected to attend. The average easy access savings rate on offer yesterday was 2.48 per cent, according to data from Moneyfactscompare.co.uk.
Average two- and five-year fixed-rate mortgage rates recently broke through the six per cent mark for the first time this year, having been above six per cent during the market volatility that followed last autumn’s mini-budget.
Home Office minister Chris Philp said it is “wrong” that some banks “haven’t increased the rates they pay savers commensurately”. “I think the FCA are quite right to call them in and raise that forcefully,” he told Sky News.
The Treasury Committee says banks are dragging their feet over increasing savings rates, an accusation they deny.
