Fresh data from the BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index (SPI) shows that the cost of food is still spiralling while the economy is slowing faster than official estimates suggest. While overall shop price inflation was 3.2% in July, Consumers have been hit with a 9.5% jump in food prices in the year to July, as retailers stepped up their bid to pass on their own rising costs to customers.

However, the rate of price inflation actually slowed for non-food items, up 0.1pc in July compared with 0.2pc in June.