By Angela Green
The Office for National Statistics today reported UK inflation has fallen in August, seeing the consumer prices index (CPI), which tracks annual price changes, reduce to 6.7% in August, down from July’s 6.8%.
These annual figures show inflation remains at more than three times above the UK’s target of 2%, rising a further 0.3% in August.
Core CPI, which does not include energy, food, alcohol, and tobacco, rose by 6.2% in the 12 months to August 2023, a fall from July, when core CPI was 6.9%. The core inflation measurement is key to the Bank of England in accessing whether to continue raising interest rates as a lever to further supress inflationary pressures.
Sterling has dropped to a four month low, shedding half a cent against the US dollar to hit $1.23 its lowest rate since May.
While headline macro-economic data is modestly pointing in the right direction, life on the ground for many operators in hospitality and catering remains highly pressured.
Hospitality and catering’s contribution to lowering inflation was higher than most reducing from 9.6% in July to 8.3% in August. But amongst all the noise from Westminster, any measures to ease the economic headwinds for our industry by way of return remain muted.
Robots are increasingly meeting the evolving wants and needs of hospitality guests and operators
