British retailers raised prices by the most in more than two years last month, as higher energy prices pushed up the cost of some processed food and the artificial intelligence boom raised the cost of consumer electronics which use similar components.
The British Retail Consortium said its monthly shop price index increased to an annual 1.5% in August from 0.9% in July, reaching its highest since February 2024.
“The impact of higher energy, input and commodity costs is beginning to filter through into prices, particularly for ambient foods which are typically imported and processed,” BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson said.
“In non-food, electrical prices rose amid the ongoing AI boom, which is forcing up the price of memory chips and storage,” she added.
• BRC food price inflation rose to a four-month high of 2.8% in August from 2.2% in July
• BRC non-food inflation rose to 0.9% in August from 0.2% in July, its highest since February 2024
• Consumer price inflation measured by the Office for National Statistics — which covers more goods and services than the BRC measure — rose to a four-month high of 2.9% in July
• The Bank of England forecasts CPI will peak at 3.2% in October and November, while food price inflation will reach 3.5% in December
(Reporting by David Milliken）
