<p>LONDON, October 28, 2025 &mdash;<br />
In October, shop-floor price inflation in the UK went down for the first time since March, when stores lowered prices. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said that overall retail prices declined by 0.3% from September to October, marking the first monthly drop in seven months. Reuters<br />
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Food prices fell 0.4% throughout the month, which was the biggest decline since December 2020. Prices in stores went up by only 1.0% from one year to the next, down from 1.4% in September. This shows that consumer pricing pressures are easing. The rate of food price inflation fell from 4.2% to 3.7%. Reuters<br />
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Why did it go down?<br />
Retailers said that the drop was caused by a combination of more competition, aggressive discounting, and lower costs of goods. Helen Dickinson, the CEO of the BRC, stated that worldwide sugar prices fell more than usual, which helped lower the cost of candy before Halloween. Early sales on electronics and beauty products also helped lower prices. Reuters<br />
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Effects on inflation and policy<br />
The Bank of England is happy to see that store prices are going down every month. This is because changes in retail and food costs help shape people&#39;s expectations about inflation. Even while headline inflation is still high at 3.8%, the BRC data shows that prices are starting to move lower. Reuters<br />
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Economists said that decreasing costs in stores could help ease some of the stress on families who are already struggling with high energy bills and mortgage payments. One expert in retail economics remarked, &quot;This could give the Bank of England more time to think about lowering interest rates later this year.&quot;<br />
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A word of warning<br />
Fresh food prices kept going up, though, which suggests that costs are still rising. Retailers also said that more costs caused by taxes or rules could change the trend. The BRC told Chancellor Rachel Reeves not to raise the cost of doing business in the November budget because more taxes could keep inflation high for longer. Reuters<br />
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In a bigger picture<br />
Non-food items like clothes and electronics have seen prices drop or alter little, but food is still the most important part of most people&#39;s expenditures. Analysts say that a change is likely because of lower input prices and discounts, but they also say that global shocks like commodity price surges and supply-chain disruptions might reverse any improvements.<br />
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Retail groups said they would keep a careful eye on the upcoming announcements about the budget and energy prices because these could effect how much costs are passed on to customers in the coming months.</p>