UK inflation has fallen slightly but food and drink costs are at a 45-year high, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The consumer prices index (CPI) measure of inflation slowed to 10.1% in the year to March from 10.4% in February.
Economists had expected it to drop below 10%, but soaring food prices offset decreases in the cost of motor fuels and heating oil.
Food and non-alcoholic drink inflation in March was measured at 19.1% — the highest level since August 1977 — with the largest contributions coming from higher prices for bread and cereals; milk, cheese and eggs; meat; and vegetables.
The war in Ukraine has pushed up food prices around the world due to a sharp increase in the cost of grains and vegetable oils as well as higher transport costs. Wholesale food prices have now started to come down, but it will take some time for this to feed through to the prices paid by consumers.
When asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme whether food prices mean that double-digit inflation is likely to be sustained at least for another month, ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner said: “It is certainly within the realm of possibility but we don’t forecast this.”
