Tesco petrol station forecourt

Source: Tesco

The UK’s leading motoring organisations have accused the biggest supermarkets in the country of not passing on the drop in wholesale fuel prices to customers, with one urging the market regulator to reopen an investigation (The Financial Times £).

UK inflation climbed to a 40-year record last month driven by higher global oil prices, heaping pressure on households struggling with a generational cost of living crisis (The Times £).

Rising petrol and diesel prices for motorists and dearer food pushed Britain’s annual inflation rate to a fresh 40-year high of 9.4% last month (The Guardian).

A business editorial in The Guardian says UK inflation rise is worrying but “Bank of England must not overreact”.

Premier Foods, the maker of Mr Kipling cakes and Oxo cubes, increased sales more than expected in the past three months as households returned to home cooking in the face of a squeeze on the cost of living (The Financial Times £).

The Mr Kipling owner reported sales growth of 6% in the 13 weeks to 2 July against a year ago, while branded items and grocery revenues jumped 4.5% and 6.3% respectively (The Mail).

Sales of its branded grocery items rose by 12% compared with the first quarter of 2020, with Batchelors and Nissin, the noodle brands, performing especially well (The Times £).

Royal Mail has delivered a profit warning and said that it is changing its name and preparing for a radical demerger of its international business (The Times £).

Royal Mail saw first-quarter UK revenues fall 11.5%, as a decline in its letters division is compounded by inflation-hit consumers cutting back on online shopping (The Mail).

The post carrier said a break-up was on the cards unless it achieved ‘significant operational change’, adding it was considering ‘all options’ for its future (The Mail).

A business editorial in The Guardian says the Royal Mail chairman is playing hardball with threats to sell off the profitable global parcels business from UK postal service.

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