
Peter Allen ambushed me…he was lurking as presenter on Derbyshire’s show (1 hr 50)….telling us that inflation is going down…but only ‘on the government’s measure of inflation’.
And we all know you can’t trust that don’t we children?
BUT….He went on to say that food prices are going to rise by 3.8%…and your wages just won’t keep up with that….it’s a very big story he tells us….never mind the latest Supermarket price war…. Allen’s new fact coming from one ‘specialist agency’ (Prestige Purchasing), not the ONS…..so getting his alarmist speculation in before it happens…never mind the actual news from today…and most say food inflation is falling….
“Consumer price inflation is expected to have been brought down by ongoing marked discounting by retailers, reduced food price inflation and lower petrol prices.” and .…..’food prices rose at their slowest pace for seven years as supermarkets continued to lure in customers with rival deals.’
Prestige Purchasing is a commercial buying company..therefore its motives for highlighting rising prices might be suspect…..claims of too high food prices and you get government to act on behalf of the food industry?
And hang on that very big story…is old history….they said the same thing in December last year:
David Read, Prestige chief executive, told the Daily Telegraph that food prices could rise by as much as 6 per cent next year, but at the very least were likely to jump by another 3.8 per cent.
And yet food prices have dropped. So why did Allen concentrate on this aspect when the ‘good news’ is real….just another notch on Prestige Purchasing’s PR belt?
Prestige Purchasing thought that getting their claims into the media was a great success in 2013….just what was the success though?…….
Food and Drinks Inflation Event – A Success
Our recent 2013 food and drinks inflation event was a great success! We have had coverage in the Telegraph (http://bit.ly/1bTnkrp), the Daily Mail (http://dailym.ai/18R7RHU), the Morning Advertiser (http://bit.ly/1d7R28B) and Big Hospitality (http://bit.ly/1b1J2mP) to name but a few. Many thanks to everyone who attended, we could not have done it without you.
And the BBC’s own web site report doesn’t think it’s such a big story and failed to mention it…though it does say: Public sector workers saw a rise of just 0.9% in the same period, but private sector pay growth was 1.7%, meaning it has already caught up with the increase in prices.
So I guess some workers are keeping up with inflation.
or as the Telegraph puts it:
Wages may finally be outstripping inflation
10.05 Good news if you work in the private sector – the “cost of living crisis” is potentially over.
The ‘cost of living crisis over’? What line will Labour have to dream up next?….still as long as they have people like Peter Allen and Micky Clark raining on the ‘Economic Recovery Parade’ there’s always an angle for Labour to exploit.
Peter Allen and Micky Clark…the bookends of doom and gloom, one at the start of the day and one at the end (usually).
The Office for National Statistics says:
Consumer Prices Index (CPI): What are the main movements?
Key points
•
The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) grew by 1.7% in the year to February 2014, down from 1.9%
in January.
•
The largest contribution to the fall in the rate came from transport (principally motor fuels) with
other smaller downward effects from the housing & household services and clothing & footwear
sectors.
•
These were partially offset by upward contributions from furniture & household goods and
recreation & culture.
•
CPIH grew by 1.6% in the year to February 2014, down from 1.8% in January. RPIJ grew by
2.0%, down from 2.1% in January.
No mention of food inflation as a major factor….in fact food fell 0.02%…so a very big story indeed:
