An Increase of 3.4% In The CPI

The CPI for March 2010 went up by 3.4% from 3% in February and the RPI by 4.4% from 3.7%. The CPI indicator in March was 113.5 from 112.9. The RPIX went up from 4.2% in February to 4.8% in March.

Housing and household services made the most difference to the annual CPI with an increase this year after a fall last year. The main difference was made by domestic gas because average bills were unchanged this year between February and March but fell last year. Transport also made a large contribution from fuels and lubricants, increasing by 2.7% between February and March, and air fares on European and long-haul flights. Falling prices for second-hand cars partially offset these upward effects. Other large upward contributions came from food and clothing. The only large downward contribution came from furniture and furnishings.