LONDON (Reuters) -British grocery inflation rose to 5.2% in the four weeks to October 5, industry data showed on Tuesday, adding to pressure on consumers already facing higher energy bills.

The figure from Worldpanel by Numerator (formerly Kantar), which provides an early indication of pricing pressures ahead of official UK inflation data on October 22, compared with 4.9% in last month’s report.

Worldpanel said prices were rising fastest in markets such as chocolate confectionery, fresh meat and coffee and falling fastest in household paper, sugar confectionery and sparkling wine.

Britain’s food retailers have said that higher employer taxes and regulatory costs as well as increased staff wages are adding to inflationary pressure from higher prices for commodities.

The British Retail C

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