| Consumer inflation rises to 3% in April |
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| Tuesday, 13 May 2008 | |
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Consumer Price Index annual inflation was up from 2.5% in March to 3.0% in April.
The Government's annual CPI target is 2.0 per cent. The largest upward contribution to the change in the CPI annual rate came from housing and household services due to changes in the price of gas, electricity and heating oil. Excise duty There were further large upward contributions from food and non-alcoholic beverages, miscellaneous goods and services where prices rose this year but fell last year, principally due to banking services, and restaurants and hotels where the effect mainly came from alcoholic drinks sold in restaurants and cafes, reflecting the increase in excise duty which was larger than last year. Excise duty was also responsible for the rise in alcohol and tobacco prices. The largest effect in recreation and culture came from computer games which rose this year but fell last year. Price reductions in furniture and furnishings in April had less effect than in the previous year across a wide range of furniture. The largest downward contribution came from transport costs, mainly due to air transport and fuels and lubricants. The price of fuels and lubricants rose this year by less than last year. The average price of petrol increased by 1.9 pence per litre between March and April this year, to stand at 108.2 pence, compared with a rise of 3.4 pence last year. By contrast, diesel prices rose by more than last year but have a smaller effect on the fuels index. There was a further large downward contribution from clothing and footwear. Retail Price Index Retail Price Index inflation rose to 4.2 per cent in April, up from 3.8 per cent in March. The main factors affecting the CPI also affected the RPI. Additionally, there were downward contributions to RPI from house depreciation, council tax and vehicle excise duty and the differences in coverage and weights between RPI and CPI for financial services result in a smaller upward contribution for RPI than CPI. RPIX inflation – the all items RPI excluding mortgage interest payments – was 4.0 per cent in April, up from 3.5 per cent in March. As an internationally comparable measure of inflation, the CPI shows that the UK inflation rate in March, at 2.5 per cent, was below the provisional figure for the European Union as a whole of 3.7 per cent. Related articles
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