Consumer price inflation remains at 3.1 per cent

CPI annual inflation was 3.1 per cent in September, unchanged from August, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Although unchanged overall, at the more detailed level, there were significant upward and downward pressures on CPI annual inflation between August and September.

The largest downward pressures to the change in CPI inflation came from a variety of transport costs:

air transport where fares fell by 27.8 per cent this year compared with a fall of 23.8 per cent a year ago. The largest downward effects came from long haul and, to a lesser extent, European routes

fuels and lubricants where prices, overall, fell by 0.8 per cent between August and September this year but rose by 2.3 per cent a year ago, principally reflecting a fall of 1.1 pence per litre in petrol prices this year compared with a rise of 2.4 pence per litre a year ago

falling second-hand car prices between August and September this year compared with price rises a year ago - there were reports of stock shortages leading to higher prices for second-hand cars during 2009

The largest upward pressures to the change in CPI inflation came from:

clothing and footwear where prices overall rose by 6.4 per cent this year, a record rise for the August to September period. The largest upward effect came from women’s outerwear where prices rose sharply this year with the 2010 autumn season

food where the largest upward effects came from meat and fruit. Meat prices rose by 0.3 per cent between August and September this year but fell by 1.2 per cent a year ago. The fall last year was a record for an August to September period. Fruit prices overall fell between August and September this year but by less than a year ago

In the year to September, RPI annual inflation was 4.6 per cent, down from 4.7 per cent in August. The main factors affecting the CPI also affected the RPI.

RPIX inflation – the all items RPI excluding mortgage interest payments – was also 4.6 per cent in September, down from 4.7 per cent in August.

As an internationally comparable measure of inflation, the CPI shows that the UK inflation rate in August was above the provisional figure for the European Union. The UK rate was 3.1 per cent whereas the EU’s as a whole was 2.0 per cent.