British Retail Consortium (BRC) data for UK shop price inflation has dropped to a 10-month low in August.

Annual shop price inflation 6.9%

  • from 7.6% y/y in July
  • +0.5% m/m

"These figures would have been lower still had the government not increased alcohol duties earlier this month," BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson said.

The BRC's inflation measure captures prices of goods sold in store and is seen as an early signal for the broader official consumer price index. The official data has fallen from a peak of over 11% last October to 6.8% in July. Inflation remains more than three times the BoE's target, and markets are expecting the 15th back-to-back Bank of England rate hike to 5.5% from 5.25% at the Bank's September 21 Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

retail sales photo