High St prices are still falling

PRICES on the high street are continuing to fall – despite a leap in the cost of food last month.

A report by the British Retail Consortium published today today shows prices were on average 0.1 per cent lower in September than a year earlier.

It was the 53rd month in a row that prices have fallen year on year.

However, the annual increase in the cost of the weekly shop was 2.2 per cent in September – the highest in four years. The average price of non-food retail goods – everything from clothes to TVs – fell 1.5 per cent compared to a year ago.

The figures undermine claims prices are soaring due to the fall in the pound since the Brexit vote. Instead, the report notes that shop prices are ‘teetering on the edge of inflation’ for the first time since April 2013.