Inflation still climbing

Inflation is at a 40-year high: 9% for the Consumer Prices Index and 7.8% for CPIH. But it is the 11.1% Retail Prices Index (RPI) figure unions will be focussing on. 


Sharp increases in the cost of electricity and gas, as the price cap rose, was a big contributor. The bottom 10% of the population (by income) already faces 10.9% CPI inflation, spending proportionately more of their income on energy, says the Institute for Fiscal Studies.