The UK’s year-on-year inflation rate stood at 11.1% last October, up from 10.1% in September, the highest increase in prices since 1981, the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported Wednesday.
The agency indicated that this is the highest year-on-year inflation rate recorded in a month in the current historical series, which began in January 1997, although the models of estimates prior to that date (not records) suggest that inflation would only have recorded a higher level in October 1981, when it reached 11.2%.
In October, the year-on-year rise in the price of food and non-alcoholic beverages accelerated to 16.2%, compared to 14.5% in September, while housing supplies increased their cost by 26.6% from 20.2% in the previous month. On its side, transportation moderated its year-on-year increase to 8.9% from 10.6% in September.
In its analysis, the ONS noted that, despite the introduction of the government’s energy price cap, gas and electricity prices were the main contributors to inflation.
In this regard, the British statistical office estimates that without the implementation of the energy price cap, electricity, gas and other fuel prices would have risen by almost 75% between September and October 2022, instead of 25%, raising the year-on-year inflation rate to 13.8%.
Meanwhile, the core CPI, which excludes volatile energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices rose by 6.5% in the 12 months to October, in line with the previous month’s figure.
In monthly terms, prices recorded a 2% increase in the tenth month of the year.
