UK shop prices rise at fastest rate since 2011
May 4, 2022, 8:27 am

UK shop prices rise at fastest rate since 2011

Shopping building in London, UK (Photo: Pixabay)

The US News reported, citing Reuters, a UK survey published on Wednesday (May 4) said that shop prices in Britain surged last month at the fastest rate in more than a decade and worse is to come. This spelt further bad news for many households caught in a worsening cost-of-living crisis.

The British Retail Consortium said prices in store chains rose by an annual 2.7% in April, accelerating from a 2.1% rise in the 12 months to March and marking the highest rate since September 2011.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson: "The impact of rising energy prices and the conflict in Ukraine continued to feed through into April's retail prices."

"Non-food products, particularly furniture, electricals and books, have seen the highest rate of inflation since records began," Dickinson added, citing new supply disruption from China which has enacted more COVID-19 lockdowns recently.

Shop prices in Britain surged in April 2022 at the fastest rate in more than a decade and worse is to come (Photo: Pixabay)

Food prices rose by 3.5% year-on-year, the biggest rise in just over nine years.

The BRC's gauge of inflation covers store prices and is not comparable with Britain's official consumer prices index, a broader gauge of inflation that includes household bills. It hit a 30-year high of 7% in March.

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The persistence of high inflation is a key concern for Bank of England officials who are expected to raise interest rates on Thursday to 1%, the highest since 2009.

Last week, Britain's longest-running gauge of consumer confidence fell to its second-lowest level since records began nearly 50 years ago, with confidence in the outlook for personal finances falling to a new record low.

Supermarket chains Asda and Morrisons said last week they would cut the prices of essential items.

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Dickinson said: "Retailers will continue to do all they can to keep prices down and deliver value for their customers by limiting price rises and expanding their value ranges, but this will put pressure on them to find cost-savings elsewhere."

"Unfortunately, customers should brace themselves for further price rises and a bumpy road ahead."

Source: usnews

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
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Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
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For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”