The UK inflation rate was three percent in January 2025, up from 2.5 percent in the previous month, and the fastest rate of inflation since March 2024. Between September 2022 and March 2023, the UK experienced seven months of double-digit inflation, which peaked at 11.1 percent in October 2022. Due to this long period of high inflation, UK consumer prices have increased by over 20 percent in the last three years. As of the most recent month, prices were rising fastest in the communications sector, at 6.1 percent, but were falling in both the furniture and transport sectors, at -0.3 percent and -0.6 percent respectively.
The Cost of Living Crisis High inflation is one of the main factors behind the ongoing Cost of Living Crisis in the UK, which, despite subsiding somewhat in 2024, is still impacting households going into 2025. In December 2024, for example, 56 percent of UK households reported their cost of living was increasing compared with the previous month, up from 45 percent in July, but far lower than at the height of the crisis in 2022. After global energy prices spiraled that year, the UK's energy price cap increased substantially. The cap, which limits what suppliers can charge consumers, reached 3,549 British pounds per year in October 2022, compared with 1,277 pounds a year earlier. Along with soaring food costs, high-energy bills have hit UK households hard, especially lower income ones that spend more of their earnings on housing costs. As a result of these factors, UK households experienced their biggest fall in living standards in decades in 2022/23. Global inflation crisis causes rapid surge in prices The UK's high inflation, and cost of living crisis in 2022 had its origins in the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the initial waves of the virus, global supply chains struggled to meet the renewed demand for goods and services. Food and energy prices, which were already high, increased further in 2022. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 brought an end to the era of cheap gas flowing to European markets from Russia. The war also disrupted global food markets, as both Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of cereal crops. As a result of these factors, inflation surged across Europe and in other parts of the world, but typically declined in 2023, and approached more usual levels by 2024.

Inflation Rate in the United Kingdom decreased to 2.80 percent in February from 3 percent in January of 2025. This dataset provides - United Kingdom Inflation Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

In February 2024, the UK's consumer price index grew by 0.4 percent when compared with the previous month. During this provided time period, prices increased fastest in April 2022, when there was a 2.5 percent rise when compared with March 2022.

Measures of monthly UK inflation data including CPIH, CPI and RPI. These tables complement the consumer price inflation time series dataset.

In 2024, the annual inflation rate for the United Kingdom was 2.5 percent, with the average rate for 2025 predicted to rise to 3.2 percent. The UK has only recently recovered from a period of elevated inflation, which saw the CPI rate reach 7.3 percent in 2023, and 9.1 percent in 2022. Before 2022, the inflation rate was at its highest in 2011 when it reached 4.5 percent, and was lowest in 2015 when an annual inflation rate of zero percent was recorded. Inflation has been surging in the UK since late 2021, and reached a 41-year-high of 11.1 percent in October 2022. Since that recent peak, inflation has gradually subsided, and was four percent in January 2024. Inflation down but not out in 2024 Although there are some positive signals regarding UK inflation decelerating throughout 2023, prices are still rising at quite a fast rate, especially in certain sectors. Food inflation, for example, only fell below double-figures in November 2023, and was still rising by 6.9 percent in January 2024. As of that month, however, alcohol and tobacco prices were rising faster than any other sector, with an inflation rate of 12.4 percent. Additionally, underlying core inflation, which measures prices rises without food and energy, is slightly above the headline inflation rate, and was 5.1 percent as of the most recent month. With some aspects of inflation seemingly becoming embedded in the UK economy, this will likely prolong the current Cost of Living Crisis engulfing UK households. Inflation crisis across in the world in 2022 The UK has not been alone in suffering from runaway inflation over the last few years. From late 2021 onwards, various factors converged to encourage a global acceleration of prices, leading to the ongoing inflation crisis. Blocked-up supply chains were one of the main factors as the world emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic. This was followed by energy and food inflation skyrocketing after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Central bank interest rates were raised globally in response to the problem, possibly putting an end to the era of cheap money that has defined monetary policy since the financial crash of 2008.

The Consumer Price Index in the United Kingdom increased 0.40 percent in February of 2025 over the previous month. This dataset provides - United Kingdom Inflation Rate MoM - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Core consumer prices in the United Kingdom increased 3.50 percent in February of 2025 over the same month in the previous year. This dataset provides - United Kingdom Core Inflation Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Between January 2018 and February 2025, the United Kingdom's consumer price inflation rate showed notable volatility. The rate hit its lowest point at 0.5 percent in August 2020 and peaked at 9.6 percent in October 2022. By September 2024, inflation had moderated to 2.6 percent, but the following months saw inflation increase again. The Bank of England's interest rate policy closely tracked these inflationary trends. Rates remained low at 0.5-0.75 percent until April 2020, when they were reduced to 0.1 percent in response to economic challenges. A series of rate increases followed, reaching a peak of 5.25 percent from August 2023 to July 2024. The central bank then initiated rate cuts in August and November 2024, lowering the rate to 4.75 percent, signaling a potential shift in monetary policy. In February 2025, the Bank of England implemented another rate cut, setting the bank rate at 4.5 percent. Global context of inflation and interest rates The UK's experience reflects a broader international trend of rising inflation and subsequent central bank responses. From January 2022 to July 2024, advanced and emerging economies alike increased their policy rates to counter inflationary pressures. However, a shift began in late 2024, with many countries, including the UK, starting to lower rates. This change suggests a potential new phase in the global economic cycle and monetary policy approach. Comparison with other major economies The UK's monetary policy decisions align closely with those of other major economies. The United States, for instance, saw its federal funds rate peak at 5.33 percent in August 2023, mirroring the UK's rate trajectory. Similarly, central bank rates in the EU all increased drastically between 2022 and 2024. These synchronized movements reflect the global nature of inflationary pressures and the coordinated efforts of central banks to maintain economic stability. As with the UK, both the U.S. and EU began considering rate cuts in late 2024, signaling a potential shift in the global economic landscape.

A longer time series of contributions to the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH) and Consumer Prices Index (CPI), UK, monthly.

Inflation as measured by the consumer price index reflects the annual percentage change in the cost to the average consumer of acquiring a basket of goods and services that may be fixed or changed at specified intervals, such as yearly. The Laspeyres formula is generally used.

The core inflation rate for the UK was 3.5 percent in February 2025, down from 3.7 percent in the previous month. Core inflation measures inflation without food and energy prices, which can be far more volatile than inflation for other goods and services.

Average weekly earnings for the whole economy, for total and regular pay, in real terms (adjusted for consumer price inflation), UK, monthly, seasonally adjusted.

Comprehensive database of time series covering measures of inflation data for the UK including CPIH, CPI and RPI.

In February 2025, the UK inflation rate was 2.8 percent, with prices rising fastest in the education sector, which had an inflation rate of 7.5 percent. In this month, prices were rising in all sectors, with the exception of clothing and footwear. The inflation rate for services as a whole was five percent, while for goods, prices grew by 0.8 percent. UK inflation falls in 2024 After reaching a peak of 11.1 percent in October 2022, the CPI inflation rate in the UK gradually declined over several months, falling to a low of 1.7 percent by August 2024. An uptick in inflation has occurred since that month, however, and by the end of the year inflation was at 2.5 percent above the Bank of England's target rate of two percent. Going into 2025, recent forecasts suggest that over the course of the year, inflation will average out at 2.6 percent, with the two percent target not met on an annual basis until at least 2029. Roots of the inflation crisis This long period of high inflation that the UK and much of the world experienced had its roots in the post-pandemic economic recovery of 2021. During that year, as consumer demand returned, global supply chains struggled to return to full capacity, resulting in prices rising. With inflation already elevated going into 2022, Russia's invasion of Ukraine added even more inflationary pressures to the global economy. European markets which were heavily reliant on Russian oil and gas gradually phased out hydrocarbons from their economies. Food prices were also heavily impacted due to Ukraine's difficulty in exporting its agricultural products.

Price quote data (for locally collected data only) and consumption segment indices that underpin consumer price inflation statistics, giving users access to the detailed data that are used in the construction of the UK’s inflation figures. The data are being made available for research purposes only and are not an accredited official statistic. From October 2024, private school fees and part-time education classes have been included in the consumption segment indices file. For more information on the introduction of consumption segments, please see the Consumer Prices Indices Technical Manual, 2019. Note that this dataset was previously called the consumer price inflation item indices and price quotes dataset.

This spreadsheet contains data tables of historical estimates modelled for the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' Housing costs (CPIH) and CPI over the period 1950 to 1988 (1949 to 1987 for index values) published alongside the Office for National Statistics' article Consumer price inflation, historical estimates, UK 1950 to 1988.

Cost of food in the United Kingdom increased 3.30 percent in February of 2025 over the same month in the previous year. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United Kingdom Food Inflation - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

In January 2025, the Consumer Price Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH) inflation rate of the United Kingdom was 3.9 percent, unchanged from the previous month. The inflation rate fell noticeably after the COVID-19 pandemic, but rose sharply between Spring 2021 and Autumn 2022. After peaking at 9.6 percent in October 2022, CPIH inflation declined throughout 2023 and into 2024, falling to 2.6 percent by September of that year, before increasing again in recent months. Cost of living problems persist into 2025 Although it is likely that the worst of the recent inflation surge may have passed, the issues caused by it look set to linger into 2025 and beyond. While the share of households experiencing living cost rises has fallen from 91 percent in August 2022, to 45 percent in July 2024, this share rose towards the end of the year, with more than half of households reporting rising costs in December. Even with lower inflation, overall consumer prices have already increased by around 20 percent in the last three years, rising to almost 30 percent for food prices, which lower income households typically spend more of their income on. The significant increase in people relying on food banks across the UK, is evidence of the magnitude of this problem, with approximately 3.12 million people using food banks in 2023/24. Other measure of inflation While the CPIH inflation rate displayed here is the preferred index of the UK's Office of National Statistics, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is often more prominently featured in the media in general. An older index, the Retail Price Index (RPI) is also still used by the government to calculate certain taxes, and rail fare rises. Other metrics include the core inflation rate, which measures prices increases without the volatility of food and energy costs, while price increases in goods and services can also be tracked separately. The inflation rate of individual sectors can also be measured, and as of December 2024, prices were rising fastest in the communications sector, at 6.1 percent, with costs falling in the transport and furniture sectors.

After reaching a peak of 10.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, the CPI inflation rate in the United Kingdom has fallen considerably, and was 2.1 percent in the second quarter of 2024. From late 2024 onwards, there is expected to be a slight bump in inflation, with the rate increasing to 2.7 percent by the second quarter of 2025, with this declining to 2.1 percent by the end of 2026. Inflation and the Cost of Living The high inflation experienced by the UK since late 2021 is one of the main factors behind the country's ongoing cost of living crisis. Price surges, in relation to food and energy costs in particular, played havoc with the finances of UK households. At the height of the crisis, around nine out of ten households were experiencing a cost of living increase compared to the previous month. Although inflation has eased since reaching a peak of 11.1 percent in October 2022, and wages have finally started to grow in real terms, the economic fallout from the crisis may be crucial in deciding who governs the UK at the next election. Economy the main issue for UK voters in 2024 Although there is currently no set date for the next UK general election, it is generally expected to take place in the second half of 2024. Recent polls put the ruling Conservative party in a precarious position, trailing their rivals the Labour Party by 30 points in May 2024. Crucially for the Labour Party, they are seen as the best party at handling the economy, which has consistently been the main issue for UK voters for several months. The UK economy's return to growth in the first quarter of 2024, along with falling inflation, may not be enough to change this perception by the time voters go to the polls.