DRIVER SHORTAGES, BREXIT RED TAPE DRIVING INFLATION IN UK

Wed 01 September 2021:

According to the latest data from the British Retail Consortium, retail prices in the UK have risen due to a national shortage of lorry drivers and interruption to the global supply chain caused by the Covid epidemic (BRC).

The costs of Brexit-induced red tape are also fueling inflation, according to the Guardian, as household budgets begin to feel the pinch.

The latest BRC numbers show a 0.4 percent increase in August, driven by a 0.6 percent increase in non-food costs, which includes a substantial increase in the cost of electrical goods due to microchip shortages and shipping issues.

“There are some modest indications that rising costs are starting to filter through into product prices,” Helen Dickinson, the chief executive of the BRC, which represents hundreds of retail businesses, told the Guardian.

“Food retailers are fighting to keep their prices down as far as possible. But mounting pressures – from rising commodity and shipping costs as well as Brexit-related red tape, mean this will not be sustainable for much longer, and food price rises are likely in the coming months,” he added.

The BRC’s warning comes after The Entertainer, a toy retailer, claimed that due to supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, and rising transportation costs, prices could climb by 10% in the next 18 months.

Inflation in the eurozone touched its highest level in a decade, with rising energy, goods, and service costs putting a dent in household expenditure.

Eurostat estimates that annual inflation in the euro zone will be 3% in August, up from 2.2 percent in July.

(Input with agency)

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