U.K. inflation has accelerated to 40 year-high to 10.1% in the past 12 months majorly due to rising food prices
As per the Office of National statistics (ONS), the United Kingdom (U.K.) inflation accelerated to 40 year-high to 10.1% in the past 12 months to July 2022 from a year earlier and after a 9.4% gain the month before.
The rising food prices have been the major factor for this continued rise in inflation. Energy, petrol and diesel costs also added to rising inflation. The Bank of England (BoE) has warned that inflation could peak at more than 13% this year. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to the West imposing sanctions on Russia including reducing the dependency on Russian fuel. This led to a rise in fuel prices globally. The blockade of Ukraine foodgrain for months also led to the rise in global foodgrains prices.
The price of bread and cereals rose fastest by 12.4%. The process of milk, cheese and eggs rose by 19.4% and oils and fats prices rose by 23.4%. The cost of vegetables, meat and chocolate were also higher. Prices also rose for other staples, such as toilet rolls, pet food and toothbrushes. The rising cost of air fares, rail tickets and package holidays also added to the woes of the Britons.
Speaking on the occasion, the Director of Retail Strategy at PwC – Kien Tan said, “Supermarkets have had little choice but to pass on price increases from suppliers, themselves contending with unprecedented inflation in raw material and ingredient input costs.”
He further said, “This has been particularly acute in labour and utility intensive categories like dairy, with reports of the price of a pint of milk having more than doubled in some stores since the start of the year.”
The prices of goods at the factory gate rose the fastest since 1997 by 17.1%. The Bank of England has warned the UK will fall into recession later this year, with the economy forecast to shrink in the last 3 months of 2022 and keep shrinking until the end of 2023.
Taking it to twitter, ONS tweeted,
The price of goods produced by UK factories rose 17.1% on the year to July 2022. This is up from 16.4% in the year to June 2022 https://t.co/I7Qym2xZe0
— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) August 17, 2022
This is the highest the rate has been since August 1977 (when it was 17.8%).
The ONS also updated the personal inflation calculator, which can be used by people to calculate their personal inflation experience based on what they spend their money on.
The typical household energy bill is forecasted to reach £ 3,582 in October 2022 and £ 4,266 in January 2023, when the price cap, the maximum amount suppliers can charge customers in England, Scotland and Wales for each unit of energy, goes up again.
