CPI Up 1.6% In July

Consumer inflation grew by 1.6% over the year to July 2014, a fall of 0.3% from 1.9% in June. The largest factor in the fall in the rate was the fall in the price of clothing. Downward effects also came from alcohol, financial services, and food product groups. The largest upward effect came from transport.

Consumer Infaltion Up To 1.5%

The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) which measures consumer inflation grew by 1.5% over the year to May 2014, down from 1.8% in April. Transport services costs made the largest contribution. Downward effects came from food and non-alcoholic drinks and clothing sectors. These downward trends were offset by increases in motor fuels and recreation and culture.

Inflation Rate 2.2% Down From 2.7%

The recent ONS statistical release on consumer inflation suggests that the CPI grew by 2.2% in the year to October 2013 down from 2.7% in September, but still above the Government's target of 2%. The main contributions to the fall in the rate came from transport and education. The CPIH and RPIJ likewise moved in a similar direction with rates of 2% from 2.5% and 1.9% from 2.5% respectively.

MUICP Of 3% Expected In September

Euro area inflation, measured by the Monetary Union Index of Consumer Prices, is expected to be 3% in September 2011 according to a flash estimate from Eurostat, the Eurpean Union's statistical office.

Family Food 2009

The Family Food 2009 annual report published by Defra recently showed that food prices were on average 5% higher in 2009 than in 2008 and consumers spent 3.6% more on food and drink. Food was less of a burden on low household incomes quintiles than in 2008 with the percentage spent on food and non-alcoholic drinks falling from 16.8% to 15.8% of total expenditure. In terms of calories consumers bought 1.2% more food but bought 3.1% less fruit and vegetables. Dietary nutrition indicators suggest a slightly negative shift in 2009. Defra also tells us in its WRAP survey that in 2008 15% of all food purchased was wasted.

Euro Industries Produce 1.3% Growth

Eurostat published figures show the euro area increased industrial production by 1.3% in March 2010 compared with February and the EU27 managed 1.2%. On an annual basis the euro area increased production by 6.9% in March 2010 and the EU27 by 6% compared with March 2009.

Looking at the main industrial groupings on the monthly basis, capital goods increased by 1.5% in the euro area and by 1.2% in EU27. Durable consumer goods increased by 0.6% in the euro area. Non-durable consumer goods increased by 1.2% in the euro area and by 1.1% in the EU27. Intermediate goods rose 0.5 and 0.8% respectively. Energy production fell by 0.5% and 0.2% respectively.

On annual comparisons intermediate goods rose 11.7% in the euro area and 10.6% in the EU27, capital goods rose by 4.5% and 4.9% respectively and non-durable consumer goods rose 4.6% and 3.2% with durable consumer goods rising by 2.2% and 3.8%. Energy increased production by 4.9% in the euro area and 2.9% in the EU27 over the year between March 2009 and March 2010.

The country with the biggest increase in production over the month according to the survey was Latvia with 9.9% then Portugal with 7.7%. The Czech Republic reported the smallest increase with 0.7%. The biggest decrease in production was in Ireland with a fall of 2.6%. Over the year the largest increase was in Estonia with 11.6% and the biggest decrease was in Greece with 4.5%. Latvia and Poland also had large increases in production over the year on 11.4% and 11.2%. Denmark's production fell by 1.9%. Norway, a member of EFTA and not the European Union, reported a decrease of 5.1%.

Lower Quarterly Profits In The Service Sector

The service sector saw lower profits in the quarter due to an unexpected sales dip that kept business levels at well below normal according to the latest CBI Service Sector survey.

Business and professional services measures fell when they had been expected to strengthen further. profits fell for the sixth quarter in a row. Consumer services volume and value fell sharply and by more than expected causing a dip in profits.

Both the business and professional sector and the consumer services sector put the falls down to lack of demand or sales which they say is also the biggest constraint on future growth. Fund raising was also cited as a key concern.

Product News

Some product news! Webgains the affiliate marketing company from Red Pepper have teamed up with Ecotopia
an eco shop and a great place for fairtrade, organic, and eco-friendly shopping. Great value and a great range for eco-surfers and anyone with an ecolifestyle and a love for ecochic. Ecotopia's mission is to help consumers make informed decisions about their shopping habits and make a difference to the world.

Another online store offering that is part of the green consumer revolution is Biome Lifestyle which offers green and sustainable products and recycled and ethically sourced products and homewares.

In the mobile phones market envirofone.com is a leading mobile phone trading platform that pays people to recycle their old mobile phone for cash. It is free and simple to use. Find out how much the old phone is worth and trade it in using a freepost envelope provided by envirofone. If the phone passes the test you will be rewarded with a cheque or Argos vouchers.

The BigGreenSmile offers a wide and competitive range of eco-friendly products in the UK. They believe the individual can have an effect on society, that small changes can make a difference and that changing behaviour helps to reduce the pressure society puts on the environment. BigGreenSmile.com tries to source the most environmentally friendly products of their type, bring them to market and offer as wide a selection of products as possible.

Ethical Superstore offers fair trade and green consumer products from world leading ethical brands such as CafeDirect, Traidcraft, PeopleTree, Green and Blacks, Divine, Ecover and many more! Their range includes gadgets, cosmetics, foods, CDs, DVDs, books and beverages! When you buy from Ethical Superstore you get a choice of marvelous products from all over the world

Manufacturing Increases Again This Month

Manufacturing output has increased by 0.2 per cent in the last three months compared to the previous three months. The increase in output between June and July was by 0.9 per cent. The ONS index for manufacturing in July was 89.6.

The most significant rises were in wood and wood products at 8.4%, transport equipment at 6.9% and rubber and plastic products at 3.9%. There were also increases in food and drink and non-metallic mineral products. The biggest fallers were machinery and equipment at -2.7%, electrical and optical equipment at -1.9%, basic metals and metal products at -1.5% and pulp, paper, printing and publishing at -1.1%.

Output of consumer durables rose by 1.9% but consumer non-durables fell by 0.6% over the quarter. Output of capital goods rose by 0.5% and intermediate goods and energy industries were unchanged. Figures are from ONS Index for Production.

Normal Services May Soon Be Resumed

The most recent CBI Services Sector Survey suggests that service sector businesses are still running at below normal levels but less than in the previous quarter. Pressure on profits and deflation are not helping.

Business and professional services' volumes and values both increased slightly for the first time since May 2008 and many firms expect it to continue to increase over the next three months. However they remain below normal for the seventh consecutive quarter. Profitability suffered because of lower prices, which are expected to fall further over the next three months as competition for business continues, but may increase slightly over the coming quarter. Employment also fell again for the fifth successive quarter but less steeply than earlier in the year. Business and professional services are more optimistic than they have been for a long time.

Consumer services values and volumes fell slightly but at much slower rates than the previous three quarters. Over the next three months firms expect values to stabilise and volumes to decline. Optimism is not as strong as three months ago. Profitability in consumer services also suffered from lower prices which are also expected to continue to fall over the next quarter. Employment in consumer services was stable.

Service sector activity was less weak than in recent quarters and things may be beginning to look a bit better.

Fresh Foods Help Keep Price Inflation Down

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) Shop Price Index (SPI) produced in collaboration with Nielsen reported annual inflation of 0.7% in June. It is down from 1.3% in May. The slowdown has continued since March. Food was the main driver with annual inflation of 5.6% from 6.4% in May. Fresh foods and particularly dairy products and some meats were largely responsible. Consumers will be seeing savings on their supermarket bills. Non-foods were up from 1.3% to 1.9%.

The month-on-month basis reported a prices increase of 0.2% in June compared with 0.5% in May. The increase in unemployment is affecting consumer confidence. Discounts and promotions are being offered at the expense of margins. Shopping conditions such as good weather help shoppers take advantage of promotional offers. The BRC maintain that the SPI is a more reliable indicator of shop price inflation than the RPI produced by the ONS.

Chemicals And Consumer Non-Durables Up

Production output decreased by 3.2% in 3 months to April and was 12.6% down on last year. Manufacturing was also down 2.8% and the mining and quarrying industries by 4.0% on the quarter and 9.3% on the year. The most significant rises in the manufacturing industry were 3.2% in the transport equipment industries, 2.3% in chemicals and 1.6% in paper, printing and publishing. The utilities were down 5.5%. It was similar for basic metals and metal products at 2.2%.

In the three main market sectors, output of consumer durable goods fell by 4.7%, non-durables were 1.9% up on the quarter and 0.8% up on the month. Capital goods were 5.6% down on the last quarter but 0.8% up on the month. Output of intermediate goods and energy were also lower. Food, drink and tobacco were up on the last quarter with a 1.6% increase.

The ONS's Index of Production is an important short-term indicator of industrial activity. It is a monthly time series covering 18.0% of the UK economy.

ONS And CBI See Fall In Business Services Output

Services output seasonally adjusted chained volume of gross value added index fell by 1.2% quarter-on-quarter to 113.3 and follows a fall of 1.3% on the previous three months according to Office for National Statistics latest Index of Services figures. The most significant fall in both quarter-on-quarter and in month-on-month figures was in business services and finance. Distribution fell 0.2% in the quarter to March compared to the quarter to December. It is the 9th consecutive monthly fall, driven mainly by wholesale, motor trades also decreased and retail increased. Hotels and restaurants fell by 5.1% over same period. There were also significant decreases in bars and restaurants. Transport, storage and communications fell by 2.3%. Business services and finance fell 2.2% to 121.7 in the quarter to March on the quarter to December and fell 0.4% between February and March. Government services increased by 0.7% in the quarter to March with the most significant increases in health and social work.

The Confederation of British Industry released its quarterly Services Sector Survey results today. It shows the service sector is still is deep recession. There are some signs of confidence returning. Consumer services fell at their fastest rate since November 2001. The rise in prices made the fall in business values look less marked. Business and professional services values fell faster than volumes due to record deflation in prices. Rates of decline are expected to slow down in both consumer services and business and professional services over the next three months. Employment is continuing to fall in both sectors. Profitability also fell but at a slower rate than the record falls of the previous quarter. Business and professional services show a similar pattern. A steep downward trend continues in telecomms and computing and transport of goods and post. Marketing services also show a continued downward trend in business values and volumes but much less marked. Confidence and profitability have both fallen. There are some signs that the decline is begining to slow.