In August, UK shop prices experienced their largest rise in 17 months, mainly due to increased food costs. The British Retail Consortium noted a 0.9% increase, with food prices jumping by 4.2%, the steepest rise since February 2024. Items like butter, eggs, and chocolate saw considerable price increases, driven by strong demand, higher labour costs, and poor harvests.
The Bank of England has expressed concern that rising food costs may lead to increased inflation expectations, potentially driving wage demands. In July, the UK’s Consumer Price Index rose to 3.8%, marking its highest point in 18 months. It is projected to reach 4% in September before potentially decreasing.
UK BRC Shop Price Index
The recent data from the UK BRC Shop Price Index in August 2025 showed a Year-over-Year increase of 0.9%. This figure was slightly below the expected increase of 1.0% but higher than the previous month’s 0.7% rise.
The latest shop price data confirms that inflation is proving more persistent than many had hoped, especially with food costs leading the charge. This puts significant pressure on the Bank of England to maintain a hawkish stance to anchor inflation expectations. We believe the market is now under-pricing the risk of another interest rate hike before the end of the year, a scenario that was seen as unlikely just a month ago.
Interest rate derivative markets are likely to see the most immediate impact from this news. SONIA futures for the upcoming months will likely see increased selling pressure as traders price in a higher terminal rate. We saw a similar dynamic unfold in late 2022 when stubborn inflation data forced markets to rapidly re-evaluate the Bank of England’s path, leading to significant moves in the short end of the yield curve.
Investment Strategy Outlook
This environment should provide continued support for the British pound, particularly against currencies with more dovish central banks. Recent data from the US has shown a slight cooling in their labour market, giving the Federal Reserve more room to pause, which strengthens the case for GBP/USD upside. We see value in buying call options on Sterling to capture this potential divergence in central bank policy over the next one to two months.
For UK equities, the outlook becomes more challenging, as the prospect of higher-for-longer interest rates can weigh on company valuations. We anticipate increased volatility in the domestically-focused FTSE 250 index, which is more sensitive to UK consumer health and borrowing costs than the globally-exposed FTSE 100. Derivative traders might consider buying put options on UK mid-cap indices as a hedge against a potential economic slowdown.
