If Britain's decision to leave the European Union is driving you to drink, a wine industry group has poured a bit of bad news into your glass with news that the price of a bottle of wine in the U.K. is now at an all-time -- and is expected to rise further -- thanks to rising costs associated with Brexit.
Britain's Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) said Thursday that the average price of a bottle of wine has risen more in the past 12 weeks than it has in the last two years, with the average layout for a tipple now £5.56 ($7.16), compared with £5.50 om the last three months of 2016.
'Two Buck Chuck' this is not.
WSTA said the fall in the pound due to Brexit has led to a 3% increase in wine prices in the 12 weeks to the beginning of 2017, compared with a 1% increase over the two years from 2015 to 2017 and cautioned that wine prices are expected to be hit by a triple whammy of Brexit, inflation and duty increases.
Inflation in the U.K. hit its highest level since September 2013 in April, hitting 2.7%, according to the Office for National Statistics, up from 2.3% in March, and well above the Bank of England target of 2%. The BoE expects inflation to peak at just below 3% by the end of this year.
"We all know that Brexit will be complicated, but something has got to give and government must start showing its support for the U.K. wine industry and the 275,000 jobs that our industry supports by tackling our excessive duty rates at the Autumn Budget," said WSTA CEO Miles Beales.
Consumers have also had to pay more for beer and other spirits since the vote to leave the European Union almost a year ago.
Brewers Heineken (HEINY) , Carlsberg (CABGY) , MolsonCoors (TAP) and AB INBev (BUD) , the maker of Budweiser, have all increased prices on Brexit woes.
Carlsberg has increased prices by 2.6% on average and Heineken said it is increasing the price of a pint by 6 pence.
Majestic Wine Plc , the U.K.'s largest specialty retailer of wine, stock was up 0.77% at 10:30 BST in London and changing hands at 375.88 pence. Shares have lost 20.56% over the past year.
