SHOP PRICES GROWING AT FASTEST RATE IN MORE THAN A DECADE

Shop prices grew at the fastest rate in more than a decade during May, as retail food costs rose 4.3 per cent in the year according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) (Sky News). Chief executive of the BRC Helen Dickinson said: “It is likely to get worse before it gets better for consumers with prices continuing to rise and a further jump in energy costs coming in October.”

Meanwhile confidence among business leaders fell to an all-time low in May, according to a survey by the Institute of Directors, with two-fifths citing inflation as their top concern (The Telegraph).

ANNUAL HOUSE PRICE GROWTH SLOWS DOWN

UK house price growth has slowed although prices still rose much faster than wages over the last year, according to figures from Nationwide (The Guardian). Values gained 0.9 per cent in May, more than economists predicted and double April’s 0.4 per cent rise, lifting the average price of a home to a record £269,914. This is 11.2 per cent higher than a year ago, down from 12.1 per cent in April. (Bloomberg). 

NEWS IN BRIEF

Credit card borrowing is rising at its fastest annual rate in 17 years while the number of mortgage approvals in April fell to its lowest level since June 2020, according to the Bank of England (The Guardian).

The Treasury plans to give the Bank of England powers to take over collapsed “stablecoin” companies in order to manage the impacts on financial stability and consumer protection (The Telegraph).

Dame Melanie Dawes, head of the media regulator Ofcom, has said that tech firms need to do more to protect women online (BBC News).

British firms see limited growth prospects over the next three months, according to a survey by the Confederation of British Industry (Reuters).