Inflation has hit a fresh record, official data showed on Wednesday, climbing to 9.4% on the back of surging food and fuel prices.
The Office for National Statistics said consumer price index inflation rose by 9.4% in the 12 months to June, up on May’s 9.1% and slightly above consensus expectations of 9.3%.
The highest figure since the National Statistics series began in January 1997, the ONS said that its modelling suggested the rate would have last been higher around in 1982, where estimates range from nearly 11% in January and 6.5% in December.
Food and fuel prices drove the increase. The ONS said that food and non-alcoholic drinks rose by 9.8% in the year to June, up from 8.7% in May and the highest since March 2009, while petrol and diesel prices surged 42.3%, the highest rate since before the start of the historical series in January 1989.
Transport costs overall were 15.2% higher.
Including owner occupiers’ housing costs, CPIH rose by 8.2%, up from 7.9%, the highest since March 1991, when it was 8.3%. The biggest drivers behind the hike in CPIH was housing and household services, and transport.
Anna Leach, deputy chief executive at the Confederation of British Industry, said: “The labour market is still tight, global price pressures strong and another rise in Ofgem’s energy price cap is in the offing. As a result, inflation is likely to stay high for the rest of this year, severely eating into strained household incomes.”
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Food prices have been sharply hit by soaring global commodity prices and the rising costs of animal feed and fertilizer, both exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.
“Across the board, non-food products are being impact by haulage and shipping costs while surging energy prices are making stores increasingly expensive.”
On a monthly basis, CPI rose by 0.8% in June, compared to a rise of 0.5% in June 2021, while CPIH increased 0.7% against a 0.4% rise a year previously.
