Inflation continues to slow! British shop price inflation hit its lowest level in more than a year

　　In a further sign of slowing inflation, prices at UK chain stores rose at their slowest pace in more than a year in October, figures from the GBR Retail Association showed on Tuesday.

　　The report noted that the UK BRC shop price index fell from 6.2% to 5.2% in October, the lowest level since August 2022. Food price inflation, meanwhile, fell for a sixth straight month, from 9.9% to 8.8%. Non-food inflation fell from 4.4% to 3.4%.

　　BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: "Inflation for imported goods was high due to the weak pound, still-high production costs and ongoing trade frictions, but some domestically produced food products, such as fruit, were less expensive than last month."

　　At the same time, she called on Treasury Secretary Jeremy Hunt to suspend the increase in retailers' levy because it could lead to another rise in shop price inflation.

　　The official consumer price index has fallen from a peak of 11 per cent to 6.7 per cent. The Bank of England (BoE) also paused interest rate rises in September after 14 consecutive hikes,

　　Markets expect rates to remain unchanged again on Thursday. However, officials are expected to stress that interest rates are likely to remain high for some time to remove inflationary pressures from the economy.