LONDON, Jan 4 Reuters Fresh food prices at British supermarkets in early December were 15.0 higher than a year earlier, the biggest annual increase since at least 2005 when records started, figures from the British Retail Consortium BRC showed on Wednesday.

British households were hit hard by a soaring cost of living in 2022, and the Bank of England has forecast that inflation will remain high over the coming months due to the ongoing impact of high energy bills before falling later in 2023.

The BRC said the overall annual rate of shop price inflation reported by its members mostly large retail chains and supermarkets dropped to 7.3 from 7.4. This was driven by a drop in inflation for nonfood items to 4.4 from 4.8.

Overall food price inflation rose to a record 13.3 from 12.4, reflecting increases in the rate of inflation to 15.0 for fresh food and 11.0 for less perishable items.

Reverberations from the war in Ukraine continued to keep high the cost of animal feed, fertiliser and energy, BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said.

The BRC price data was collected between Dec. 1 and Dec. 7.

Britain39;s official rate of consumer price inflation  which covers a wider range of goods, services and businesses than the BRC survey hit a 41year high of 11.1 in October, before dropping to 10.7 in November.

However, food and drink price inflation as measured by the Office for National Statistics ONS continued to increase in November, hitting its highest since September 1977…