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Highlights:
- Food prices in the country jumped to a historic high last month.
- December saw the highest recorded monthly increase since this data since records began in 2005.
Rising food prices are pushing the inflation trajectory upwards in the UK, reaffirming the concerns raised by experts in the past few months regarding the state of the economy. The latest data on food price inflation paints a gloomy picture of the days to come.
Figures shared by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and data firm Nielsen have revealed that the food prices in the country jumped to a historic high last month, with retail bosses warning that soaring inflation levels will continue this year.
The data from the latest monthly report showed that food price inflation in December jumped 13.3% on a yearly basis, higher than November's 12.4%. This was the highest recorded monthly increase recorded since this data since records began in 2005.
Image source: © Ladykassie | Megapixl.com
The prices of several essential foods saw a sharp increase due to the effects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the report highlighted, adding that the soaring rates of animal feed, fertiliser, and energy led to higher food prices. It also stressed that households are facing pressure during the festive shopping season, and they will further face this pressure in 2023.
In the wake of the latest data on food inflation, let's look at some FTSE retail stocks and how they have been performing.
Next Plc (LON: NXT)
Next is an FTSE 100-listed high-street retailer. It retails in apparel, accessories, and footwear through its physical and online stores. Holding a market cap of £7,882.48 million, the firm has an EPS (earnings per share) of 5.31 as of 5 January 2023. At the time of writing, its one-year and year-to-date returns stood at -18.71% and 12.78%, respectively. NXT shares had rallied 7.48% on Thursday and were trading at GBX 6,554.00 as of 9:07 am GMT.
OCADO Group Plc (LON: OCDO)
Another FTSE 100-listed company operating in the retail space is Ocado. It offers clients grocery fulfilment technology and has a 50% stake in online grocery retailer ocado.com. The firm's market cap is at £5,841.33 million at present, and the EPS is negative at -0.18. Its 12-month and year-to-date returns stood at 16.89% and -53.66% at the time of writing. OCDO's shares price was at GBX 721.00, up 1.95% as of 9:13 am GMT.
Marks and Spencer Plc (LON: MKS)
The FTSE 250-listed retailer's market cap stood at £2,586.71 million as of 5 January 2023, and the EPS was 0.16. The firm has both physical and online stores in multiple countries, and its stock has given a return of -42.43% and 11.35% on a one-year and year-to-date basis. MKS shares were up 4.22% at GBX 137.20 as of 9:18 am GMT.
Note: The above content constitutes a very preliminary observation or view based on market trends and is of limited scope without any in-depth fundamental valuation or technical analysis. Any interest in stocks or sectors should be thoroughly evaluated taking into consideration the associated risks.
