Remember the huge stink kicked up by Remainers last year over Brexit and supermarket prices in the run-up to Christmas? Well, according to British Retail Consortium figures just released, shop prices fell by 1% in the year to March 2018. The BRC said:

 “Shop prices have been deflationary for 59 months now, and this is the deepest deflation since February 2017.”

When general prices ticked up for a brief period many Remainers claimed it was all down to a Brexit effect on the pound. The pound is now correcting to pre-referendum levels at around $1.40 – a weaker pound did not prevent shop prices falling. BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson said:

“The support for a zero-tariff trade deal on the end-status agreement between the EU and UK, is encouraging news for retailers, but this needs to be accompanied by a focus on reducing potential customs friction on the movement of goods, in order for retailers to mitigate any further pressure on prices for their customers.

Remainers not in such a rush to write this one up…

Meanwhile Barclays boss Jes Staley has again been bullish on Brexit. The banker suggested he was more concerned about competition from the US than about leaving the EU: “In some ways bigger than Brexit is the decision of the US government to drop tax rates down to 20 per cent.” He said any impact on UK GDP growth would be “incremental and so it won’t make the headlines.” Not covered by any Remain-leaning media this morning…