Editorial & Advertiser disclosure

Global Banking and Finance Review is an online platform offering news, analysis, and opinion on the latest trends, developments, and innovations in the banking and finance industry worldwide. The platform covers a diverse range of topics, including banking, insurance, investment, wealth management, fintech, and regulatory issues. The website publishes news, press releases, opinion and advertorials on various financial organizations, products and services which are commissioned from various Companies, Organizations, PR agencies, Bloggers etc. These commissioned articles are commercial in nature. This is not to be considered as financial advice and should be considered only for information purposes. It does not reflect the views or opinion of our website and is not to be considered an endorsement or a recommendation. We cannot guarantee the accuracy or applicability of any information provided with respect to your individual or personal circumstances. Please seek Professional advice from a qualified professional before making any financial decisions. We link to various third-party websites, affiliate sales networks, and to our advertising partners websites. When you view or click on certain links available on our articles, our partners may compensate us for displaying the content to you or make a purchase or fill a form. This will not incur any additional charges to you. To make things simpler for you to identity or distinguish advertised or sponsored articles or links, you may consider all articles or links hosted on our site as a commercial article placement. We will not be responsible for any loss you may suffer as a result of any omission or inaccuracy on the website.

Headlines

UK prices to rise as retailers pass on higher employment costs, BRC says

Published by Global Banking and Finance Review

Posted on March 4, 2025

Featured image for article about Headlines

By Suban Abdulla

LONDON (Reuters) - British retailers will likely push up their prices in the coming months in response to higher employment costs in April, according to a survey on Tuesday which showed a rebound in prices in February after the end of January sales.

The British Retail Consortium said shop prices in February were 0.7% lower than a year earlier - the same annual fall as in January.

But prices rose by 0.4% in monthly terms in February following a 0.4% fall in January - the biggest month-on-month increase in a year after a rise in food prices and an end to seasonal sales promotions for electrical goods and furniture.

BRC chief executive, Helen Dickinson, said shop prices will likely rise further as retailers face a 7 billion pound ($8.88 billion) rise in annual costs this year due to a nearly 7% rise in the minimum wage, packaging levies and an increase in payroll taxes announced in finance minister Rachel Reeves' October budget.

The changes, which will come into effect on April 1, have raised questions about how far the higher costs for firms will feed into prices.

Britain's headline rate of inflation hit a 10-month high of 3.0% in January and the Bank of England forecasts it will reach 3.7% in the third quarter of this year.

The BRC said food inflation rose to 2.1% last month, its highest rate since September last year when it stood at 2.3%, reflecting higher prices for foodstuffs including butter, cheese, eggs, bread and cereals. Climbing global coffee prices looked set to push up prices next, it added.

"We expect food prices to be over 4% up by the second half of the year," Dickinson said. "If government wants to keep inflation at bay, enable retailers to focus on growth, and help households, it must mitigate the swathe of costs facing the industry."

Prices of non-food items fell by 2.1%, a bigger annual drop than January's 1.8% decrease despite a 0.5% rise in prices on the month.

($1 = 0.7885 pounds)

(Reporting by Suban Abdulla; editing by David Milliken)