more pressure on families struggling with costs such as soaring energy bills Fraser McKevitt

Households shunned pubs, restaurants and bars in December as the rise of the Omicron variant saw people spending near-record amounts in supermarkets and celebrating the festive period at home, according to new supermarket data. Researchers at Kantar found that sales hit ￡11.7 billion in December – just 0.2% down on the record-breaking same month a year ago when strict restrictions were in place. However, part of the impressive sales results was due to rising inflation, with supermarket prices no

" I must buy my Easter eggs now," Twitter user@ SteveMiraverdeposted reacting to the rushed shoppers that have contributed to the findings of analytics firm Kantar, whose data shows 449, 000 consumers bought their Christmas pudding in September – a 76 percent rise on last year.... People have also stocked up on toys and wrapping paper. Ahead of the festive season, some frenzied Britons have gone to the shops to ensure they don't miss out on essentials. Over the past four weeks, there was a five

But it will likely be some time before any positive effect is seen on the prices at the till, and much could still change.... William Woods, analyst at broker Bernstein, warned that although prices were coming down, “ many core contributors to inflation are still feeding through, such as energy andlabour costs ”.... SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you....

Global supply shortages and soaring costs have pushed supermarkets in the UK to introduce restrictions on the purchase of cooking oils.... But in recent weeks pressures on the supply of olive, sunflower and other cooking oils have increased further.... The war in Ukraine – which supplies nearly half of the world's sunflower oil — has interrupted shipments and sent cooking oil prices spiralling....

image source, Aldi image captionAldi UK's chief executive Giles Hurley is confident the supermarket chain can weather any storms in the supply chainThe boss of supermarket chain Aldi UK has told the BBC he doesn't envisage any disruption for customers this Christmas.... There have been dire warnings about food shortages and empty shelves due to a chronic shortage of heavy goods vehicle( HGV) lorry drivers.... But chief executive Giles Hurley says his deliveries are moving as normal....

The governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, has even apologised for the situation.... The reasons behind those rising prices can be complicated.... An Uber fareThe cost of getting around is getting more expensive....