LONDON, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Britain's shop price inflation increased to 1.2 percent year on year in May, with non-food inflation logging rapid growth due to higher costs triggered by the Middle East conflict, data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed Tuesday.
The growth outpaced the 1.0-percent increase recorded in April. And non-food inflation increased to 0.5 percent year on year in May, against a decline of 0.1 percent in April, the data showed.
BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson said furniture and health and beauty saw the sharpest increases, driven by rising raw material and shipping costs.
"While retailers work hard to keep prices down for customers, they continue to face significant cost pressures, including higher energy bills and disruption linked to the conflict," she said, noting that businesses can not absorb these costs indefinitely, which risks pushing prices higher in the months ahead.
To help protect households, measures should be taken to reduce business costs, such as cutting the non-commodity charges, taxes and levies that make up more than two-thirds of energy bills, she added.
Britain's retail sales fell 1.3 percent in April -- the steepest monthly decline since May 2025, earlier data released by the Office for National Statistics showed.
