Record jump in inflation

Inflation jumped from 2% CPI (consumer prices index) in July to 3.2% in August – the largest single month rise since records began in 1997 according to the ONS. This takes it well above the Bank of England’s 2% inflation target. RPI (retail prices index) inflation jumped from 3.8% to 4.8%.

CPIH, the consumer prices index including owner occupiers' housing costs, rose by 3% in the 12 months to August 2021, the largest increase since figures began in 2006. “However,” the ONS said, “this is likely to be a temporary change”.

It said that the change is largely because of discounted restaurant and café prices in August 2020 during the Eat Out to Help Out scheme and, to a lesser extent, reductions in VAT across the same sector. The largest upward contribution to the CPIH 12-month inflation rate came from transport, followed by restaurants and hotels, housing and household services, and recreation and culture.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/consumerpriceinflationukaugust2021