The latest shop price monitor from the BRC, published today, found that food inflation increased to 4.2% year-on-year in August, while fresh food inflation grew to 4.1% year-on-year.

Non-food inflation increased to -0.8% year-on-year.

Costs of food staples including eggs and butter have increased due to high demand, tightening supply and increasing labour costs.

The price of chocolate has also increased, because of high global cocoa prices, the BRC noted.

Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight, NIQ, said: “The uptick in prices reflects several factors: global supply costs, seasonal food inflation driven by weather conditions, the conclusion of promotional activity linked to recent sporting events, and a rise in underlying operational costs. As shoppers return from their summer holidays, many may need to reassess household budgets in response to rising household bills.”

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: “Retailers continue doing everything they can to limit price rises for households, but as the Bank of England acknowledged, the £7bn in new costs flowing through from last year’s budget has created an uphill battle for retailers.”

Last week, the chief executives of over 60 retailers, including Tesco, Aldi, Asda and Sainsbury’s, wrote to the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to call for no further tax rises on retail in the autumn budget, saying that it is becoming harder to shield customers from inflationary pressures.

Dickinson added: “The planned business rates reforms present an opportunity to deliver a meaningful reduction in retail, hospitality and leisure bills, ensure no shop pays more as a result and help retailers keep prices low for customers.”

The BRC’s shop price monitor is administered by NIQ, which collates and analyses the data on behalf of the BRC. The report is published 10 days before the ONS official statistics, and analyses price changes for 500 of the most frequently purchased items across all food and non-food categories online and in store.