Annual rate of consumer price inflation slipped marginally in August though food and non-alcoholic drinks prices rose at highest rate since August 2008, the Office for National Statistics said today (14).
According to ONS, annual rate of consumer price inflation fell to 9.9 per cent in August, down from 10.1 per cent in July- first drop since September 2021. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the inflation rate would rise to 10.2 per cent.
The biggest push in inflation came from food and non-alcoholic drinks whose prices rose at an annual rate of 13.1 per cent in August, up from 12.7 per cent in July, marking the highest rate since August 2008. The largest upward effect came from milk, cheese and eggs.
The marginally low inflation rate is mainly a result of petrol prices falling by 14.3 pence per litre between these months, compared with a 2p rise a year ago. Diesel prices also contributed to the change in the rate, falling by 11.3p per litre this year.
However, Britain is still battling the highest inflation among the world's seven largest advanced economies, although some EU countries – including the Netherlands and Spain – have higher rates.
Natural gas prices have surged across Europe following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, even in countries such as Britain which imported very little.
