Faced with rising prices, food sales continued to fall in October in Britain, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), published on Friday, the day after an austerity budget consisting of price rises, taxes and cuts in public spending. “Food sales continue the downward trend that began in the summer of 2021“, a phenomenon that can be explained by “rising cost of living and food pricesthe ONS said in a statement on Friday.
Grocery store sales fell 1% in October and were 4.1% below their pre-Covid-19 pandemic level, a sign that Britons are tightening their belts in the face of inflation at its highest in more than 40 years and an economy hit by pandemic, the war in Ukraine and Brexit. Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt on Thursday unveiled 55 billion pounds of austerity measures to get public finances back on track and tackle inflation, a bittersweet drink in a country that has already slipped into recession, according to projections from the OBR, the public budget planning body. The increase in inflation, which exceeded 11% in October, will therefore “decrease by 7% the standard of living“in the UK in two years, despite state aid,”erase eight years of progress“, OBR said on Thursday.
The growing concern of the English
“What worries people is the rise in the cost of living, the rise in the price of weekly groceries, mortgages and their energy billsMr. Hunt said on Sky News on Friday, reiterating that “tough decisions announced (Thursday) will bring inflation down“. Overall, retail sales in the country, including non-food, saw a small recovery in October (+0.6%), but mainly due to the effect of comparison with the previous month, marked by an extra day of unscheduled holiday for the Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, according to the ONS.
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“The UK consumer outlook continues to suffer from a number of headwinds – including inflation continuing to significantly outpace wages (rises) and rising mortgage costscommented Martin Beck, economist at EY Item Club. These factors”likely to weigh on purchasing power until next year“, according to him.
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