Coffee pot

Rising coffee prices contributed to accelerating food inflation

UK food inflation hit a new record in November as the cost of meat, eggs and milk soared according to new sector data suggesting a “bleak” winter for millions of households (The Financial Times £).

A big rise in the cost of food pushed annual shop price inflation to a record high in November, according to a closely watched survey warning of an “increasingly bleak” winter (The Times £).

UK food price inflation hit a new high of 12.4% in November as the price of basics such as eggs, dairy products and coffee shot up (The Guardian).

Egg shortages helped drive food inflation to a record high in November, while rising meat and dairy prices mean the cost of a Christmas dinner is set to jump sharply this year (The Telegraph).

Overall shop prices are now 7.4% higher than last November, up from 6.6% in October, to set another record since the British Retail Consortium records began back in 2005 (The Mail).

Central bankers on both sides of the Atlantic raised hopes the battle against inflation is being won – but warned it was far from over (The Mail). Bank of England chief economist Huw Pill said inflation was set to fall ‘quite rapidly’ in the UK next year as gas prices ease.

Brexit added almost £6bn to UK food bills in the two years to the end of 2021, affecting poorest households the most, research has found (The Guardian).

Brexit added more than £200 to household food bills over two years, contributing to record price inflation, according to research (The Times £). The Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics calculated an average £210 increase in food prices for British consumers between 2019 and last year.

Inflation in the eurozone has fallen for the first time in 17 months, raising hopes that the biggest global price surge for a generation has peaked and easing pressure on central banks to continue increasing rates aggressively (The Financial Times £).

Inflation in the eurozone registered a surprise fall for the first time in more than a year, reducing pressure on the European Central Bank to maintain its aggressive interest rate rises (The Times £).

Huel, the healthy meal replacement company, has raised $24m in a fresh fundraising round as it sets its sights on more overseas expansion (The Times £).

A Lex column in The Financial Times (£) turns its attention to an asset sale at French supermarket Casino, writing there is only so much of itself the indebted group can sell. “Unless it sells more assets, groceries or both — tough in today’s market conditions — it will struggle to pay its debts.”

The French baguette has joined Neapolitan pizza, Belgian beer and the Mediterranean diet on the list of nearly 700 traditions now listed by Unesco as the world’s intangible cultural heritage (The Times £).