In the UK, consumer prices increased by 2.9% year-on-year in July. This is stated in the report of the country's Office for National Statistics (ONS).
According to Trading Economics, the figure matched the average forecast of analysts.
Thus, inflation accelerated from 2.6% in June, reaching its highest level in the last four months.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 1.3% compared to the previous month, up from 1.7% in June, alcoholic beverages and tobacco products increased by 2.5% compared to 2.1%, clothing and footwear rose by 0.5% after the same decline in the previous month, and furniture and household goods increased by 1% after a 0.2% decrease in June.
The increase in transportation services slowed from 5.7% in June to 3.6%, while communication services decreased from 5.2% to 5%, and healthcare inflation accelerated from 2.5% to 2.7%. Prices in the education sector rose by 5%, the same as the previous month. Prices in restaurants and hotels increased by 4%, compared to a 4.4% increase in June.
The overall inflation rate in the services sector decreased from 3.6% to 3.4%, while the increase in goods prices accelerated from 1.7% to 2.2%.
In July, consumer prices in the UK increased by 0.3% compared to the previous month, up from 0.1% in June.
The Core CPI index, excluding food, alcohol, tobacco, and energy prices, rose by 2.6% year-on-year last month and by 0.2% month-on-month. In June, these figures were 2.6% and 0.3%, respectively.
The Retail Price Index (RPI) rose by 3.2% year-on-year in July, compared to 3% in the previous month. This index is used by British employers in wage negotiations. The difference in the dynamics of CPI and RPI is due to the fact that RPI takes into account housing costs and gives different weights to airfares, insurance, and gasoline prices. RPI increased by 0.6% month-on-month compared to 0.3% in June.
