// Supermarkets insist food prices have peaked and will start to fall over the coming months
// The UK’s biggest supermarkets spoke to the Treasury on Thursday after the Bank of England rose interest rates to 4.5%
Supermarkets have promised ministers that food prices have peaked and will begin to fall in the next few months.
The crisis call with the Treasury came after Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey criticised high food prices for driving inflation.
On Thursday, the Bank raised interest rates for the twelfth consecutive time to 4.5%, up from 4.25%.
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Ministers are concerned that food price inflation is more “sticky” than originally thought, despite a fall in energy prices, The Times reported.
The supermarkets asked the government for support in lowering food prices by reducing the cost burden of new packaging and environmental regulations.
Earlier this month, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey accused Britain’s largest supermarkets of profiteering after food inflation soared to a record high of 15.7%.
He called on the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to investigate claims of the grocery giants using their market power to raise prices even further.
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