British High streets still in deflation as prices drop a further 1.4%
A High Street price survey conducted by the British Retail Consortium has shown a sharp fall in August with prices down 1.4 per cent versus a year earlier, extending a matching 1.4 per cent fall in July.
Confirming that the deflationary cycle remains entrenched the figures also showed the cost of non-food goods falling by an even more precipitous 2.4 per cent, a slight acceleration on the pace of decline witnessed the month prior – eclipsing a marginal increase in the cost of food.
BRC director general Helen Dickinson said: "Annual food prices rose for a second month but once again the rise was marginal, by just 0.2 percent year-on-year, and is likely to be a temporary fluctuation in a longer-term downward trend driven by ongoing competition," she said in a statement.”
Prices remain on a downward trajectory amidst instense competition and continued falls in commodity prices although the Bank of England expects inflation to pick up again by the end of the year.