From bread to butter to baked beans, a survey of typical breakfast items makes clear that there’s no relief from rising inflation for Britons when they sit down for their morning meal.
LONDON — Britons can’t escape inflation. They’re reminded first thing every morning — when they tuck into breakfast.
As soaring inflation takes its toll in the country — consumer prices rose in July 10.1 percent from the previous year, according to official statistics released on Wednesday — the prices for items associated with a basic breakfast in Britain have jumped.
The squeeze isn’t just being felt at the breakfast table, either, with the overall rise in inflation being attributed in large part to higher food and drink prices across the board, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
Assosia, a retail research firm, compared prices from Britain’s four largest supermarket chains, and the data showed significant increases for branded items on the shelves on Tuesday, when compared with exactly one year ago, from bread to butter to baked beans. Here’s what that looks like (1 British pound = $1.20).
Bread: The price of 800 grams (about 1.75 pounds) of Hovis soft medium slices of bread rose from an average of £1.05 to £1.20, an increase of 15 percent.
Butter: Two hundred and fifty grams of Lurpak unsalted butter is now £2.50, up from £1.94, an increase of 29 percent.
Eggs: Six large free-range eggs from the Happy Egg Co. now runs £1.97, compared to £1.72 a year ago, an increase of nearly 15 percent.
Sausages: A package of eight Richmond Thick Sausages is now £2.26, a rise of 26 pence from a year ago, a 13 percent increase.
Bacon: The price of 200 grams of Finnebrogue Artisan Naked bacon slices surged more than 32 percent, from £2.03 to £2.68.
Baked Beans: A 415-gram can of Heinz Baked Beans went from 85 pence to £1.21, increasing almost 43 percent.
Coffee: Two hundred grams of Nescafé instant coffee jumped from £4.56 to £5.25, up 15 percent.
Tea: 80 bags of PG tips Original Biodegradable Black Tea rose a little less than 9 percent, going from £2.13 to £2.31.
Source: Economy - nytimes.com
