LONDON, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Shop prices for non-food items in the United Kingdom (UK) fell at an annual rate of 0.6 percent in April, marking the first decrease since 2021, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) announced on Tuesday.
"In April, non-food prices fell, especially in clothing and footwear, where retailers ramped up promotions to encourage consumer spend," said BRC's Chief Executive Helen Dickinson.
In addition, food inflation dropped from 3.7 percent in March to 3.4 percent in April, the lowest since March 2022, as the overall shop price annual inflation stood at 0.8 percent in April, down from 1.3 percent in March, also the lowest since December 2021, the data showed.
"One year on from the peak, shop price inflation levels are showing signs of normalizing, providing relief to households. Both food and non-food have seen shop inflation rates ease to more manageable levels," said Dickinson.
But Dickinson cautioned that geopolitical tensions and the knock-on impact on commodity prices, such as oil, continued to pose a threat to future price stability. More "pro-growth policies" should be implemented by the UK government, she noted. ■
