REPEAT: UK Nov Shop Price Defla Steady At 0.1% On Year: BRC

Repeats Story Initially Transmitted at 00:01 GMT Nov 29/19:01 EST Nov 28

BRC Nov Shop Price Index Down O.1% y/y; Matches October Outturn

By David Robinson

     LONDON (MNI) - Shop price deflation held steady in November at the minimal

level of 0.1% on the year, matching the September and October outturns,

BRC-Nielsen data showed.

     The British Retail Consortium-Nielsen Shop Price Index fell 0.2% on the

month in November and posted its third consecutive 0.1% drop on the year. Food

price inflation eased while non-food deflation lessened.

     Food prices in November were up 1.5% on the year, below the 2.2% rise on

the year in October. Non-food deflation in November was 1.1% compared to 1.5% in

October.

     Helen Dickinson, BRC Chief Executive, said that shop prices were "still

teetering on the edge of a return to inflationary territory. November now marks

the 55th consecutive month of deflation with the current rate the shallowest in

the last four years."

     Headline UK inflation may have peaked in October. CPI rose 3.0% on the year

in October, unchanged from September, with the Bank of England forecasting that

October would be the high point.

     These latest BRC data, showing shop price deflation flat-lining at minimal

levels, are consistent with the story of elevated, but no longer accelerating,

overall inflation levels. 

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2223; email: david.robinson@marketnews.com

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com