Inflation Down To 3%

CPI annual inflation fell 0.5% to 3% in April 2012. Easter had a significant effect on the data. The rate was last lower in December 2009 when it was 2.9%. The index stands at 122.9. The main causes of the decrease in the index were falls in prices in air transport, off-sales of alcohol, clothing and sea transport. Upward pressure came from the operation of personal transport equipment, restaurants and hotels, and rents. The RPI stands at 3.5% down from 3.6% in March. The CPI rose 0.6% between March and April 2012. Transport prices rose by 1.2% the largest contrubutor to which came from fuel costs which increased 2%. Petrol prices went up 3.2% to £1.42/l. Diesel prices rose 2.1% to £1.48/l. The increase in excise duties helped prices of alcohol and tobacco to go up by 2.9%, where tobacco prices increased by 5.1%. Prices of furniture, household equipment and maintenance fell by 1.2%, mainly due to downward prices in furniture and furnishings.

Inflation Up To 4%

The latest inflation data from the ONS says that CPI annual inflation now stands at 4% from 3.7% in December. The government target for CPI is 2%. The main contributory factors were petrol and diesel prices, restaurants and cafes, furniture and furnishings, alcoholic beverages and vehicle purchases. Two important factors that also made an impact were the increase in VAT and the price of crude oil. Downward pressure on the CPI came from recreation and culture, banking services and clothing and footwear. The RPI increased from 4.8% in December to 5.1% in January 2011.

The all items CPI hasn't been higher since November 2008, non-alcoholic beverages, restaurants and hotels and petrol haven't been higher since records began.

Consumer Inflation At 3.2%

Annual inflation increased from 3.1% in September to 3.2% last month according to figures released by ONS. The main upward pressure for the change came from petrol and diesel, financial services and games, toys and hobbies (mainly computer games bought in shops rather than online) and the main downward pressure came from food prices. Vegetable prices fell 1% and meat prices were unchanged but went up last year. The index stands at 115.2.

There was an increase of 0.3% over the month. The most significant contributions came from recreation and culture (games, toys and hobbies 1.9% and cultural services 1.7%) and transport (fuels and lubricants 1.8%). Downward pressure over the month came from furniture, household equipment and maintenance (furniture and furnishings -3.4%) and clothing and footwear (-0.7% largely from garments).

CPI Unchanged At 3.1%

The consumer price index remained at 3.1% in August according to the ONS even though there were significant upward and downward pressures on the index.

Rising air fares (16.1%), clothing (2.8%) and food were the most important contributors to upward pressure while a fall in second-hand car prices and falling petrol and diesel prices contributed downward pressure.

The most important upward contributions to the change in the 12 month rate came from clothing and footwear, food and non-alcoholic beverages. Downwrad pressure contributing to the change came from transport and furniture, household equipment and maintenance.

The 12 month rate to August was affected by upward pressure from transport (1.2%), food and alcoholic beverages (0.5%) and restaurants and hotels (0.4%). Clothing and footwear contributed downward pressure.

The RPI all items index and the RPIX increased by 4.7% from 4.8% in July.