UK grocery spending soars as food prices rise

High food inflation pushed up UK grocery spending last month, prompting many consumers to cut back on discretionary purchases, according to retail sector data published on Tuesday.

Figures from trade body the British Retail Consortium and KPMG, the advisory services firm, showed that UK food sales increased by an annual rate of 9.6 per cent in May, well above the 12-month average of 6.9 per cent.

The figure was also more than double the…