BRC Comments On Inflation

Responding to the latest CPI inflation figures which show headline inflation falling to 3.4% and food inflation falling 1.9 percentage points to 5.0%, Kris Hamer, Director of Insight of the British Retail Consortium, said:

“After a rocky start to 2024, inflation is once again on its way down. February’s figures were driven by falls in food and clothing and footwear as well as cheaper energy prices. Food inflation fell once again to its lowest rate since January 2022, as retailers continue to deliver the best service to their customers and communities. Households benefited from falling prices of fish, crisps and jam.

“While today’s inflation figures will be good news for consumers, Government must not be complacent. Significant costs on the horizon may put renewed pressure on overall inflation in the near future; these include a 6.7% rise in business rates, and reforms to the packaging levy and electrical takeback schemes, all in the context of the biggest rise to NLW on record. This will limit investment and drive up costs at a time when many families are still facing a higher cost of living.”

ONS Inflation Data

• The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH) rose by 3.8% in the 12 months to February 2024, down from 4.2% in January.

• On a monthly basis, CPIH rose by 0.6% in February 2024, compared with a rise of 1.0% in February 2023.

• The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 3.4% in the 12 months to February 2024, down from 4.0% in January.

• On a monthly basis, CPI rose by 0.6% in February 2024, compared with a rise of 1.1% in February 2023.

• The largest downward contributions to the monthly change in both CPIH and CPI annual rates came from food, and restaurants and cafes, while the largest upward contributions came from housing and household services, and motor fuels.

• Core CPIH (excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco) rose by 4.8% in the 12 months to February 2024, down from 5.1% in January; the CPIH goods annual rate slowed from 1.8% to 1.1%, while the CPIH services annual rate eased slightly from 6.1% to 6.0%.

• Core CPI (excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco) rose by 4.5% in the 12 months to February 2024, down from 5.1% in January; the CPI goods annual rate slowed from 1.8% to 1.1%, while the CPI services annual rate eased from 6.5% to 6.1%.

• In line with usual practice at the start of each year, the basket of goods and services, and expenditure weights used in compiling our consumer price inflation statistics have been updated.

• This release is the first publication to include improved data from February 2024 on second-hand cars and private rental prices as part of our programme to transform consumer price statistics.

Source : BRC, ONS

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