Lower cost of tea eases January price rises

The latest report from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) reveals that shop prices increased at the slowest rate in over 18 months in January.

Last year, inflation, the rate at which prices go up, reached near-record highs, causing a cost-of-living crisis. However, discounts and lower prices for items like milk and tea led to a decrease in shop price inflation from 4% in December to 2.9%.

Even though prices are still rising in stores, they are doing so at a slower pace. Food prices, on average, are still going up by more than 6% each year.

The BRC, representing some of the UK’s major retailers, stated that shop price inflation in January was the lowest since May 2022. Discounts after the New Year also contributed to a slowdown in the rate of price increases for non-food products, dropping from 3.1% the previous month to 1.3%.