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Rising food and fuel prices have pushed UK consumer inflation up to 3.3 per cent, according to the Office for National Statistics. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) annual inflation rate rose 0.3% from April to May at 3.3% due to an even steeper inflation rate increase on food and non-alcoholic beverages from 6.6% in April to an astonishing 7.8%. Food inflation has increased to 8.7% up from 7.2% in April prominently driven by rising meat prices which has increased by more than double from 4.1% in April to 8.8% in May. Inflation on vegetable prices has also shot up an from astounding 3.8% in April to 7.2% in May. All these crucial factors affecting the overall CPI also affect the Retail Prices Index (RPI) which rose from 4.2% in April to 4.3% in May. RPI has also been hit by the downward trend in the housing market deriving mainly from mortgage interest payments rising and an inevitable decreasing disposable income. Continuous increases in the price of petrol has also affected RPI as the transportation costs for any and every type of distributed product are increasing on a far too frequent basis. Due to the excessive CPI rise the governor of the bank of England must inform the Chancellor to explain what actions he will take to control such excruciating levels of inflation. Share this Article:                        Advertisement |
