Shop prices fall again in July
UK shop prices continued to fall in July with a 1.6% decline. This follows a drop of 2% in June.
The figures from the British Retail Consortium and Nielsen in their monthly shop price index show that non-food deflation decelerated to 2.2% in July from 2.8% in June.
Meanwhile, food deflation remained at 0.8% for the second consecutive month. Both the fresh and ambient food categories saw prices fall in the period.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “The long stretch of deflation continued in July with shop prices falling once again.
“While we may have become accustomed to prices falling, it’s worth noting that this month’s figures have seen the rate of deflation decelerate. Total price falls have slowed to -1.6% from June’s -2%. It’s too early to say if this is the beginning of the end of sustained price deflation or whether pressures in the wider economy could merely mark the end of the beginning.”
