U.K. Shop Price Inflation Picks Up, Retailers Ask Government to Help

• British shop price inflation sped up in May on the back of disruption and higher energy costs caused by the Iran ‌war, according to a retail industry group, which said the government had to do more to keep costs down.
• The British Retail Consortium's (BRC’s) monthly survey of major chains published on Tuesday, May 206, 2026, showed that ⁠prices in May were 1.2% higher than a year earlier, up from a 1.0% rise in April. Furniture and health and beauty products rose the most, reflecting rising raw material and shipping costs. However, food price inflation slowed to 2.7%, its lowest in a year, from 3.1%.
• BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson said the government, which ‌has ⁠pressed supermarkets to slow price increases and flirted with the idea of demanding price caps this month, had to play its part in bringing down costs for retailers. "Reducing ⁠the non-commodity charges, taxes and levies that make up more than two-thirds of energy bills, and cutting red tape would ⁠help keep inflation down," Dickinson said.
• Britain's broader official consumer price inflation index fell to 2.8% in April but ⁠is expected to rise again to around 4% in the coming months due to the energy price shock.

(Source: Reuters)