Major supermarkets MUST drop prices to help struggling families now inflation has fallen, Jeremy Hunt insists

Today, Jeremy Hunt emphasized SUPERMARKETS must reduce prices because inflation has dropped.

The prime minister said grocery store managers must pass on reduced production costs to demanding consumers.

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It comes as new inflation figures this morning show the headline rate fell from 8.7% in May to 7.9% in June.

City economists had predicted that inflation last month would drop to just 8.2%, so it was lower than expected.

The Office for National Statistics said falling motor fuel prices were the biggest contributing factor to the rate of change.

And although food prices have increased in June, they have increased less than in June 2022.

Commenting on the figures, Mr Hunt said: “We can see that manufacturers’ prices are coming down.

“We want to make sure that supermarkets and other retailers get those things to families as quickly as possible, because people are feeling a lot of pressure.”

The Prime Minister added: “If you combine that with what the Bank of England is doing with monetary policy, what the Government is doing in terms of public accountability, you can see that we I will succeed in reducing inflation.

“That’s starting to happen. There’s still a long way to go and we’ll stick to the road map.”

Energy Secretary Grant Shapps said inflation remained “too high” but was at least “on track”.

“We have done a lot of work to try to help people get through the period of high inflation caused by the energy price shock,” the minister said.

“It’s good to see that that’s starting to work as inflation drops to 7.9%.

In good news for struggling households, the Resolution Foundation think tank said the drop in inflation would ease pressure on both mortgages and payment packages.

It also ended an 18-month period of falling UK real wages.

Britain is now no exception in the escalating price-control war against the rest of the world.

But it is still the highest among the G7 countries.

James Smith, director of research at the Resolution Foundation, said: “Today’s sharp decline in inflation – the second largest this century – offers some clear good news after months of disappointing data on the economy. the state of the economy.

“The size of the drop should ease pressure on mortgages and wages, with the Bank of England less likely to keep rates higher for longer and an 18-month wage squeeze Britain’s most recent is coming to an end.

“The UK still has one of the highest inflation rates of any advanced economy, but after today it only looks worse than a good case.

“It’s a very welcome improvement.”