Business leaders have hit back after the Bank of England governor said they should think twice before raising prices to deal with inflation.
Andrew Bailey said higher prices could push up the cost of living even further, hurting the poorest the most.
But pub chain JD Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin said bank managers were “breathing on the necks” of business owners.
UK Hospitality said Mr Bailey was ignoring the “glaring situation” many were facing.
“If all prices try to beat inflation, we will get higher inflation,” the bank governor told the BBC’s Today programme.
A day after the bank hiked interest rates to their highest level in 14 years, Mr Bailey said higher inflation was “hurting people” and warned that if prices continued to rise rates would rise again .
“I would say to the people who set prices – please understand that if we embed inflation, interest rates have to keep going up and higher inflation really does nobody any good,” he added.
But Mr Martin said while businesses “will want to heed his advice, many won’t be able to” and warned there could be price increases at the pub chain.
“If cash costs for energy, labor and supplies rise and prices don’t rise, bank executives across the country will be breathing down the necks of business owners — which is an unnerving experience,” he said.
The Wetherspoons chairman said he looked forward to a time when “wild” inflationary pressures eased across the industry.
The budget food and drink chain, which has a network of 843 pubs across the UK and Ireland, reported a 5% increase in sales in the six months to January 29 compared to the same period in 2019.
Its figures echo those of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which showed retail sales rose to 6.3%, the highest since March 2022.
However, rising inflation meant sales volumes remained firmly in the red.
The BRC said that despite ongoing cost-of-living pressures, customers are still willing to spend on what they need, with higher sales of clothing and cosmetics.
“Challenges remain for consumer spending in the coming months with the end of the Energy Bill Support Scheme in April and rising borrowing costs.
“It is important that the government avoids additional regulatory burdens on companies that would drive up prices and put additional strain on consumers’ wallets,” it said.
The chief executive of trade organization UK Hospitality, Kate Nicholls, said it was a “small miracle” that so many companies had held back on price increases for as long as they had.
“To recommend that the sector should absorb these staggering increases in costs ignores the real and dire situation facing venues across the country,” she said.
A government spokesman said it had provided an “unprecedented” energy support package for businesses “and further support from April”.
- Take a look at your closets so you know what you already have
- Go to the reduced section first to see if there’s anything you need
- Buy things near their sell-by date that are cheaper and use your freezer
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