UK inflation fell slightly to 9.9% in the 12 months to August as the cost of living crisis continues to squeeze household finances.
This is down from a 40-year high of 10.1% in July - and means Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation is now five times higher than the Bank of England target of 2%.
Inflation dropped slightly because of a fall in petrol and diesel prices - but food and clothing became more expensive.
The official figures were released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this morning.
Food and drink prices have risen by 13 straight months, with an increase of 13.1% in the year to July.
Milk, cheese and eggs are the foods increasing in price the most.
The ONS said: "Food and non-alcoholic beverages made the largest upward contribution to the monthly rates in August 2022, while falling prices for motor fuels resulted in a large offsetting downward contribution."
Yesterday The Mirror reported that shoppers are now paying an eye-watering £5,181 a year for groceries on average - with some items costing a third more.
Experts said consumers will be stuck paying high prices for months.
Mazars chief economist George Lagarias said: "Inflation slowed down somewhat in August but remained at overall very high levels.
"Higher energy prices for all the previous months have fully fed into most supply chains and it will take months of lower oil for end consumer prices to meaningfully come down again. Inflation may well remain a central theme until at least the end of the year."
BestInvest personal finance expert Alice Haine said: "While a decline in Inflation, albeit minimal, might sound like an improvement, consumers cannot relax just yet."
"Household finances are still being eroded by the skyrocketing price of groceries with food and non-alcoholic beverage prices rising by 13.1% on the year to August, up from 12.7% in July. "
Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union, warned of a “crisis of income”.
“Rocketing inflation may have been eased last month but that won’t last,” she said.
“Current levels continue to threaten the living standards of millions of workers.
“This is now a crisis of income. Only the rich and powerful are protected.
“It’s time for the rest of us to organise into trade unions and take back our share of the corporate profits we create.”
The British Chambers of Commerce criticised a lack of detail from the Government over the plan to cap energy costs.
Alex Veitch, the BCC’s director of policy and public affairs, said: "There is a limit to how long any firm can sustain these rising costs before something has to give. We know from our research that two-thirds of businesses plan to increase their own prices.
“The size of last week’s Government intervention on energy prices should have a dampening effect on inflation when it is enacted.
“But the lack of detail on exactly how much help any individual business will get, and for how long, means very few will be planning to invest any time soon."
What is inflation?
Inflation is a figure used to explain how much the prices of everyday essentials have increased.
When inflation is high, it means the cost of living has increased and you’re getting less for your money than you did before.
The ONS releases inflation figures for the previous 12 months every year - so it is a retrospective look at how prices have changed,
For example, if something cost £1 a year ago and now costs £1.02 today, that rate of inflation would be 2%.
What happens when inflation rises?
The rate of inflation is increasing across the world - not just the UK - and there are several reasons why this is happening.
Household spending started to rise in early 2021 when the UK began easing coronavirus restrictions.
When people are spending more, it drives up demand and pushes up prices.
"Economies around the world, including in the UK, opened up after Covid restrictions eased. And then people naturally wanted to start buying things again," explains the Bank of England.
"But businesses selling some of those things couldn’t get enough of them to their customers. This caused prices to rise - especially for goods coming from abroad."
The Russian invasion of Ukraine earlier this year has also caused prices to rise, including a sharp increase in the cost of energy.
Agricultural commodities, such as grain, which are needed to produce food, have risen too off the back of the crisis.
