Trade association The British Retail Consortium (BRC) Shop Price Index (SPI) inflation rate for December showed overall prices were 0.64 percent lower than in December 2004.
The inflation rate was marginally higher than in November but still lower than every other month since January 2005. The overall index stands at 100.66 compared to 101.13 in December 2004.
The price of non-food items showed a year-on-year decline for the seventh consecutive month. Non-food prices are now 1.41 percent lower than last year.
Overall, shop prices in December fell back by 0.47 percent from November. Non-food prices dropped back 0.55 percent and food prices fell a further 0.29 percent.
Kevin Hawkins, Director General, BRC comments: “Shop prices in December remained lower than in December 2004, despite less pre-Christmas discounting due to retailers' planning stock levels carefully. While this means consumers probably saved on their Christmas shopping, prices throughout 2005 as a whole were also lower than in the last two years, with non-food items in particular showing a marked decrease.”
The overall shop price index for December fell 0.47 percent from November, to 100.66, as both food and non-food prices fell. The reduction in non-food prices followed an increase in November.
The inflation rate edged up only marginally in December and remained negative, with prices 0.64 percent lower than in December 2004, compared with 0.80 percent down in November, which was the lowest inflation rate since January 2005.
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