Until this month, retailers had largely absorbed the higher costs of raw materials, mainly in response to weak demand from customers. In surveys, consumer confidence has declined sharply<\/a> since the summer, when it became clearer the conflict in the Middle East was unlikely to end swiftly.<\/p>\n Bank of England officials are expected to raise interest rates next week from 3.75% to 4%. If the rise in retail prices persists, it is likely to persuade many of the Bank\u2019s nine-member monetary policy committee to raise rates still further in December or the new year.<\/p>\n The chancellor, John Healey, faces intense pressure from Labour backbenchers to address the high cost of living in his first budget on Wednesday. Photograph: House of Commons<\/p>\n Helen Dickinson, the chief executive of the BRC, said: \u201cThe dam is starting to break on the huge wave of costs retailers have absorbed over the last two years.\u201d<\/p>\n She said that while there was heavy discounting to attract shoppers<\/a> ahead of Halloween celebrations, supermarkets could no longer keep the prices of tins and packets on their shelves from going up.<\/p>\n The chancellor is expected to come under intense pressure from his own backbenchers concerned that the high cost of living is harming many of their constituents.<\/p>\n The impact of cost of living pressures on low-income families is the subject of a report by<\/a> Ruth Patrick, a professor in social and public policy at the University of Glasgow.<\/p>\n Based on a long-term study, it shows that high petrol and diesel prices are hitting families who need to transport disabled children to and from school and health appointments, and workers who use a car to travel to and from their jobs.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1793119464_424_500.jpg\")
<\/p>\n