UK inflation rate rises to 4.5 per cent

CPI annual inflation was 4.5 per cent in April, up from 4.0 per cent in March, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The last time CPI annual inflation was higher was September 2008 when it stood at 5.2 per cent (the record high for CPI).

The timing of Easter in 2011 had a significant impact on certain travel costs included in the CPI due to the collection periods for air transport, sea transport and international rail travel including the Easter holidays. Easter in 2010 was much earlier and did not affect the April 2010 CPI.

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

transport: by far the largest upward effect came from air transport where the timing of Easter contributed to fares rising by 29.0 per cent between March and April 2011; between the same two months in 2010, fares fell by 1.0 per cent. There was also a large upward effect from sea transport where again Easter was a factor; fares rose by 22.3 per cent between March and April 2011 compared to an increase of 3.1 per cent a year ago

Partially offsetting these upward effects within transport was downward pressure from petrol and diesel where prices rose by less than a year ago. This was partly due to the fact there was a decrease in excise duty that influenced fuel prices in April 2011 whereas in April 2010 there was an increase in excise duty

alcoholic beverages and tobacco: prices, overall, rose by a record 5.3 per cent between March and April 2011 compared with a rise of 2.1 per cent a year ago. The increase in excise duties on alcohol and tobacco this year had a more significant impact than the increases a year ago

housing and household services: the largest upward effect came from gas where average bills were unchanged between March and April 2011 but fell by 2.9 per cent a year ago. The next largest upward effects came from sewerage collection where charges rose this year but fell a year ago and rental costs for housing, which rose by more than a year ago

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

miscellaneous goods and services: the largest downward effects came from appliances and products for personal care and transport insurance

clothing and footwear: prices, overall, rose by 1.3 per cent between March and April this year compared with a 2.2 per cent increase a year ago. Although there is a smaller price rise this year, the increase of 1.3 per cent is still the second largest rise for a March to April period

In the year to April, RPI annual inflation was 5.2 per cent, down from 5.3 per cent in March.

RPIX annual inflation – the all items RPI excluding mortgage interest payments – was 5.3 per cent in April, down from 5.4 per cent in March.

As an internationally comparable measure of inflation, the CPI shows that the UK inflation rate in March was above the provisional figure for the European Union. The UK rate was 4.0 per cent whereas the EU’s as a whole was 3.1 per cent.