Closing summary
The cost of an average Christmas dinner has surged 6.5% on last year, pushed up by hefty price rises on potatoes, cauliflower, carrots and parsnips.
UK shoppers will pay £32.57 for a festive meal for four, according to retail analysts at Kantar, spurred by a 16.3% jump in potato prices and a near 15% rise in the cost of carrots.
All elements in the meal rose in price except sparkling wine, which remained level on last year with the most expensive item, turkey, up 8.5%. The overall cost of a Christmas dinner rose by almost three times the pace of wider grocery inflation.
Grocery prices stepped up 2.6% in the four weeks to 1 December, up from 2.3% a month before, according to Kantar. Prices rose fastest on household essentials such as toothbrushes and chilled juices, while they fell on items such as dog food and toilet roll.
Spending on groceries to take home rose just 2.5% in the 12 weeks to 1 December – just behind inflation in the final month of that period – indicating that shoppers are still cautious about putting more items in their baskets and searching for ways to save.
Ashtead Group, the £27bn construction rental company, plans to shift its primary listing to New York in the latest blow to the London stock market.
The company, which has been listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) since 1986, said the US was a natural home for the company, given that nearly all of profits – about 98% – are made across the Atlantic.
However, its switch away from the UK represents another snub to the LSE, which a number of high-profile businesses have left.
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Thank you for reading – see you again tomorrow. Bye! – JK
Arabica coffee prices hit record highs on Brazil crop fears
Arabica coffee prices hit record highs today as dealers worried about the outlook for Brazil’s crop.
Volcafe, one of the world’s largest coffee traders, slashed its 2025/26 forecast for the country’s arabica output.
Brazil, which grows nearly half the world’s arabica - high-end beans typically used in roast and ground blends beloved by barristas - will produce just 34.4m bags of the bean next season, according to a Volcafe report seen by Reuters.
The forecast has been cut by 11m bags because of a high level of blossom failure following this year’s drought. Volcafe sees an “unprecedented” fifth consecutive global coffee shortage of 8.5m bags next year.
The trader told Reuters:
The situation of continuous deficits prevalent since 2021 is largely driven by the inability of Brazil to produce a healthy ‘on-cycle’ arabica crop back to above 50 million bags, primarily due to climate change.
Arabica coffee futures on ICE, used as a benchmark to price physical coffee around the world, hit $3.4835 per pound earlier today, their highest ever levels. They are now trading 4.3% higher at $3.4440 per lb.
Coffee prices have jumped by 80% this year, also driven by worries over crops in top robusta producer Vietnam.
The price rises have boosted potential earnings for farmers but they are challenging traders, who are facing crippling hedging costs on exchanges and a scramble to receive the beans they are owed.
Rising prices are also prompting some consumers to switch to cheaper coffee. The boss of Nestlé, the world’s biggest coffee company, was ousted earlier this year after the board grew unhappy about weak sales and a loss of market share as coffee drinkers switched to cheaper brands.
