Food inflation has accelerated to record levels as many households suffered a “challenging Christmas” due to soaring prices, according to new figures. The price of food for shoppers jumped to 13.3% in December, from 12.4% in the previous month.
It came as the latest BRC-NielsenIQ shop price index showed a slight sign of respite for cash-strapped shoppers, as overall shop price inflation eased slightly to 7.3% for the month. It pulled back marginally from 7.4% in November but remains close to record highs.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), said: “It was a challenging Christmas for many households across the UK. Not only did the cold snap force people to spend more on their energy bills, but the prices of many essential foods also rose as reverberations from the war in Ukraine continued to keep high the cost of animal feed, fertiliser and energy.”
