Food And Fuel Reduce CPI

CPI grew from 1.2% in the year to September to 1.3% in the year to October according to a statistical bulletin from the ONS. So goods that cost £100 last October cost £101.3 this October.

The main contributors to the rise in inflation were smaller falls in the costs for motor fuels and air fares and price rises for computer games.

The three main contributors to annual inflation over the last five years have been housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels and restaurants and hotels. Together these three sectors have accounted for nearly half of inflation each month. Food and fuel prices which normally contribute to rises in annual inflation have been helping to reduce it by 0.3%.

CPI Up By 1.2%

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) grew by 1.2% (128.3 - 128.4, 2005=100) over the year to September 2014, down from 1.5% in August according to the ONS. Falls in sea fares and air fares and recreational goods were mainly responsible for the fall.

Housing and household services accounted for a third of the rate of inflation and if falling food and fuel prices were excluded the rate would be a third higher.

Durables Maintaining Growth Trends

Motor vehicles in particular have continued the growth trends in consumer goods in the first quarter of 2013 according to the ONS. The latest Consumer Trends statistical bulletin suggests that purchases of cars and household appliances has continued to gain in strength as spending on cars increased by 3.1% in terms of volume and on durables by 2.1%. Spending on major household appliances increased by 5.7%.

Household spending grew by 0.3% in the first quarter of this year due mainly to growth in spending on housing, water, gas elecytricity and other fuels. Households spent 0.3% more in volume terms well below the peak of Q4 2007 but 3.4% more than the recent low of Q2 2009. Current price spending was 17.6% higher than Q2 2009.

Household spending per head in current price terms increased by 0.8% to £3993, £340 more than in Q4 2007.

Inflation Unchanged Under Pressure

The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) annual inflation remained unchanged at 2.7% (124.4) in November as compared with October 2012. The unchanged figure however does not show the significant upward pressures on the CPI from food and non-alcoholic beverages and housing and household services during the month. Downward pressures on the CPI came from motor fuels and furniture, household equipment and maintenance. The RPI inflation figure stands at 3% (245.6) down from 3.2% in October. Motoring expenditure, housing and household goods provided the main downward pressure offset slightly by upward pressure from food.

European Inflation Falls In October

Inflation in Europe fell in October according to Eurostat. Euro area inflation fell 0.1% from 2.6% in September to 2.5% in October. EU annual inflation was 2.6% in October down from 2.7% in September. The annual comparison also shows a decrease in inflation in the euro area from 3% and in the EU27 from 3.4% last year. The lowest annual rates in October were seen in Greece, Sweden and Latvia and the highest in Hungary, Romania and Estonia. The lowest annual averages were in Sweden, Greece and Ireland and the highest in Hungary, Estonia and Poland. In the euro area the main components for annual rates were transport, alcohol and tobacco and housing and the lowest in communiactions, recreation and culture, clothing and household equipment. The monthly rate were mainly affected by clothing and education, alcohol and tobacco and the lowest for transport, communications, recreation and culture and hotels and restaurants.

CPI Down To 2.5% In August

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell to 2.5% in August 2012 from 2.6% in July according to a statistical bulletin from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The main pressure pushing the index down came from furniture, household equipment & maintenance, housing & household services (particularly domestic gas) and clothing & footwear. The downward pressure from these sectors was partially offset by upward pressure from transport (particularly motor fuels).

Inflation Stands At 3.4%

CPI inflation stands at 121.8 or a percentage change of 3.4% in February 2012 according to a statistical bulletin from the ONS. RPI inflation stands at 3.7%. The annual rate is the lowest since November 2010.

The biggest downward pressure on the CPI came from domestic electricity and gas, recreation and culture and transport. The biggest upward pressure came from alcohol off sales and vegetables.

On the monthly comparison the CPI rose by 0.6% between January and February 2012 compared with 0.7 a year ago. The biggest upward pressure on the monthly comparisdon came from clothing and footwear, food and non-alcoholic beverages, transport and furniture. The biggest downward pressure came from housing and household services.

CPI Highest Ever

CPI annual inflation reached 5.2% in September 2011 up from 4.5% in August according to the ONS. It is the highest CPI inflation has ever been since records began in January 1997. It was also 5.2% in September 2008. RPI, an alternative measure of inflation reached 5.6%.

The biggest upward pressure came from increases in prices for energy products gas and electricity. Upward pressure also came from air transport and communications services. Clothing contributed the main downward pressure.

Housing and household services increased by 8.6% compared with 5.1% last month. Restaurants and hotels annual rate was 4.7% compared with 4.6% last month. It is the highest ever for the sector.

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.

Inflation Down to 3%

The CPI rose by 3% in the year to February to 112.9. In January it had been 3.5%. The RPI in February was 219.2 an increase of 3.7%. The RPI excluding mortgage interest payments was 4.2% up, down from 4.6% in January.

Recreation and culture provided the main downward contribution as prices remained unchanged over the survey period of January and February. Within this group the games, toys and hobbies sector was the main factor and in particular computer games and pre-school activity toys. Books, particularly non-fiction, also made a significant contribution. Clothing and footwear provided the only upward contribution particularly women's outerwear due to prices rising more than they did last year. Hotel accomodation provided a small upward contribution in the hotels and restaurants sector.

Housing provided the largest upward contribution to the RPI mainly due to mortgage interest payments. House depreciation also had an effect. Clothing and footwear added to the increase in the RPI. Fares and other travel particularly air fares also helped increase the RPI. Downward contributions came from motoring expenses, where fuel price increases were lower than last year, leisure and household goods and off-sales wines and spirits within the alcoholic beverages sector.

CPI At 3% In February

The CPI rose by 3% in the year to February to 112.9. In January it had been 3.5%. The RPI in February was 219.2 an increase of 3.7%. The RPI excluding mortgage interest payments was 4.2% up, down from 4.6% in January.

Recreation and culture provided the main downward contribution as prices remained unchanged over the survey period of January and February. Within this group the games, toys and hobbies sector was the main factor and in particular computer games and pre-school activity toys. Books, particularly non-fiction, also made a significant contribution. Clothing and footwear provided the only upward contribution particularly women's outerwear due to prices rising more than they did last year. Hotel accomodation provided a small upward contribution in the hotels and restaurants sector.

Housing provided the largest upward contribution to the RPI mainly due to mortgage interest payments. House depreciation also had an effect. Clothing and footwear added to the increase in the RPI. Fares and other travel particularly air fares also helped increase the RPI. Downward contributions came from motoring expenses, where fuel price increases were lower than last year, leisure and household goods and off-sales wines and spirits within the alcoholic beverages sector.

Inflation Hits 3.5%

The Governor of the Bank of England had to write to the Prime Minister to explain the fact that CPI inflation hit 3.5% in January. It is the second largest ever increase in the annual rate between 2 months. There was a 1% increase in the annual rate between November and December. CPI records began in 1996. The all items CPI is 112.4 down from 112.6 in December a change of 0.2% and although the index took a downward movement it is the greatest growth ever for those two months.

Both of these record movement can be at least partially explained by the 15% to 17.5% increase in VAT in January which also affected RPI. Another factor was the price of crude oil. The all goods CPI annual rate is 3.9% from 3.2% last month and the all services CPI annual rate is 3% from 2.6% last month.

The all items RPI in January was 217.9 down from 218 in December, the annual rate being 3.7% from 2.4%. The RPIX (excluding mortgage interest payments) was 4.6% from 3.8%. The all goods index was 169.3 from 169.7 or an annual rate of 6.5% from 5.3%. The all services index was 288.6 from 288.2, or an annual rate of 3.1% from 2.8% last month.

The largest upward contribution to the annual rate of CPI was from transport. Within transport the largest contribution came from a 2.2% rise in the price of fuels and lubricants compared with a fall of 3.4% last year. There were also large upward contributions from maintenance and repairs and the purchase of new and second hand cars. These were partially offset by a fall in prices in fares particularly in long-haul routes and sea transport. Another significant upward contribution came from recreation and culture where recording media particularly DVD purchases were significant along with subscriptions to cable and digital television.

Housing was a significant contributor to the increase in the RPI where mortgage interest payments rose this year but fell a year ago. After housing came motoring expenses mainly petrol and oil. Tobacco was also a significant contributor along with food, alcohol and household services, fuel and light and leisure goods.

Food Helps CPI Rate Stay The Same

The CPI rate of inflation rose by 1.8% the same amount as in June with the index at 110.9 compared with 111.0 in June. The RPI fell by 1.4% over the same period compared with a fall of 1.6% to June. The RPIX rose by 1.2% from 1.0% in June.

The largest contribution to the downward trend cam from food and non-alcoholic beverages. Meat prices are falling this year but were rising a year ago across a range of products. vegetables also contributed a large downward effect and bread and cereals a smaller effect. Other downward effects came from hotels and retaurants, particularly restaurants and cafes and especially take-aways and accomodation services. Housing and household services alse feature due to fuel costs. Within this grouping regular maintenance and repairs had an effect offsetting and upward effect from rents.

Recreation and culture provided the biggest upward contribution mainly games, toys and hobbies but with small effect from an increase in the prices of computer games and DVDs. Small price rises in alcoholic beverages andf tobacco also contributed a small increase.

Motoring expenditure made the biggest upward contribution to the RPI. Car prices rose this year compared to last and tax and insurance premiums also rose by more than last year. A large downward contribution from petrol and oil helped offset these effects where prices rose more slowly than last year. Other large downward contributions came from fuel and light, fares and other travel costs. Large upward contributions came from household goods, housing, household services and leisure goods.