England’s Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose to 9.0 per cent in April 2022, up from seven per cent in the previous month of March.

The United Kingdom’s Office of National Statistics reports that the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) rose to 7.8 per cent as at April 2022, up from 6.2 per cent in March.

Since April 2021, the largest upward contributions to the annual CPIH inflation rate came from a 2.76 per cent increase in the division ‘housing and household services’ (principally from increases in electricity, gas and other fuels and owner occupiers’ housing costs) and a 1.47 per cent increase in transport (principally from motor fuels and second-hand cars).

HIGHEST INFLATION RATE SINCE 1991

On a monthly basis, CPIH rose by 2.1 per cent in April 2022, compared with a rise of 0.7 per cent in April 2021. Since March 2022, the largest upward contributions to the change in the CPIH inflation rate also comes from housing and household services (1.27%), restaurants, hotels (0.11%), and recreation and culture (0.10%).

The increase was partially offset from a 0.09 per cent reduction in the prices within the division ‘clothing and footwear’. On a monthly basis, CPIH rose by 2.1 per cent and CPI rose by 2.5 per cent in April 2022, compared to respective rises of 0.9 per cent and 1.1 per cent in March 2022.

The increase in CPI & CPIH is the highest recorded 12-month inflation rate in the National Statistics series since April 1991, when it stood at 8.0 per cent.