Sainsbury’s said it would cut the price of its toilet paper by as much as 11 per cent, in the latest sign that some grocery prices are beginning to fall despite persistent high inflation.
Britain is struggling with one of the highest inflation rates among major advanced economies, and any signs that it could abate or even reverse in the coming months are being closely watched by the Bank of England, lawmakers and consumers.
Sainsbury’s, Britain’s second largest supermarket, said on Wednesday that the price of pulp used to make the paper had fallen for the first time in two years and as such it would pass on the savings to shoppers buying the own-brand product.
Rising grocery prices have been one the biggest drivers of the country’s 8.7 per cent inflation rate recorded for April, but there are hopes recent price reductions could help bring that figure down.
Sainsbury’s move on toilet roll follows recent price reductions it and other retailers have made on items which have seen the sharpest rises, such as milk, butter, bread, pasta and vegetable oil over the past year.
The supermarket itself slashed the price of its own brand bread and butter.
“Whenever we are paying less for the products we buy from our suppliers, we will pass those savings on to customers,” said the Sainsbury’s food commercial director, Rhian Bartlett at the time.
“As we see the commodity prices starting to fall for wheat and butter, we’re able to lower our prices on two of the products people buy most often, bread and butter.”
The recent news comes amid hopes that price rises could ease soon, amid a recent drop in global wholesale food costs. However, grocers have cautioned that widespread price cuts are unlikely to come soon with energy and labour costs still rising.
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