Bank of England accuses retailers of profiteering

Some of them are “overcharging customers” during the cost-of-living crisis, BoE governor has claimed

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has denounced domestic retailers for being engaged in ‘greedflation,’ claiming that some of them have been taking advantage of rampant inflation by raising prices.

In an interview with the BBC this week, Bailey said certain retailers were “overcharging customers” as millions of families struggle to make ends meet.

“If you look at petrol prices, some sellers of petrol have possibly been charging too much for it,” the BoE head suggested.

According to the top economist, “moves by regulators on retail prices will help to lower inflation,” particularly in the fuel market.

The BoE believes UK inflation will fall back to the 2% target towards the end of next year.

Asked when a fall in interest rates might be seen, Bailey responded: “I can’t give you a date as to when interest rates start to come down because that really depends upon what happens over the period of time ahead, but getting inflation down is the most important thing that we have to do.”

Meanwhile, economists at JPMorgan projected this week that BoE may have to further hike interest rates to 7% from the current 5% to bring inflation under control, hitting household budgets even harder.

READ MORE: Struggling British households tap into rainy-day funds

Earlier this year, the BoE warned that British households and businesses needed to accept that they were worse off and should stop asking for wage increases and pushing prices higher. The regulator’s chief economist, Huw Pill, said at the time that “a series of inflationary shocks” generated by the pandemic, the conflict in Ukraine, and crop shortages have sent prices in the UK to a 40-year high. He claimed that in response to surging bills and other rising costs, workers and businesses were attempting to transfer the impact of inflation onto each other.

Find more stories on economy and finance in TROIB business