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28th January 2021
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Retail not the source of inflationary pressure, argues BRC
Tuesday's official inflation figures are evidence that little inflationary pressure is coming from the retail sector. The latest numbers from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show Shop Price Inflation running behind both CPI and RPI. The main factors driving inflation are high fuel and transport costs - the result of soaring global commodity prices, not shop prices.
British Retail Consortium Economist, Richard Lim, said: "Inflation is now running at 4.0% and has been above the Bank of England's target for more than a year now. By contrast, the Shop Price Index has stayed at around 2%.
"Our figures show that food inflation is at a 19 month high. Despite that, overall shop prices are still rising more slowly than the official measure which includes petrol, utilities and services. Upward pressure on prices is not coming from the high street.
"The VAT rise had little effect on shop prices in January. The impact of the increase was almost entirely lost among the unusually high number of post-Christmas discounts and promotions."
18th February 2011