The amount families spent on groceries, petrol and other day-to-day items has shrunk for a whole year, official figures show. Household spending on essentials has fallen to its lowest level in almost a decade as families tighten their belts amid growing fears over the economy. The amount they spent on groceries, petrol and other day-to-day items has shrunk for a whole year, official figures showed. Pressure is growing for the Bank of England to resume quantitative easing – electronically printing money to kick-start the economy – as early as today, after separate figures showed that economic growth was even weaker than previously thought.
In a third blow, the International Monetary Fund warned that the major European economies, including Britain, were at risk of a full-blown recession. According to the Office for National Statistics, consumers spent £620million less on food, equivalent to £30 per household, during the three months to the end of June compared with the first three months of the year. – telegraph
