Inflation unchanged in January: ONS
Inflation remained unchanged in January at 4%, the same rate as in December 2023.
On a monthly basis, CPIH fell by 0.4% in January 2024, the same rate as in January 2023.
The annual rate of food and non-alcohol beverages has fallen from 8.0% in December 2023 to 7.0% in January 2024, which is the lowest annual rate since April 2022. The fall to 7.0% means the annual rate has eased for the 10th consecutive month, from a recent high of 19.2% in March 2023, which was the highest annual rate seen for over 45 years.
Monthly prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages fell by 0.4% between December 2023 and January this year, compared with a rise of 0.6% a year ago. Monthly prices for food (excluding non-alcoholic beverages) also fell by 0.4%. This was the first fall in monthly prices since September 2021, and the largest fall since July 2021.
The easing in the annual rate for food and non-alcoholic beverages was driven by bread and cereals, where prices fell by 1.3% on the month, compared with a rise of 0.2% a year ago.
The monthly fall was the largest since May 2021, some of the items providing larger negative contributions in this class were cream crackers, sponge cake, and chocolate biscuits.
Although the bread and cereals class provided the largest negative contribution, the slowing in the annual rate was fairly widespread across the division. Of the 11 classes, seven provided a downward contribution, while the others were unchanged.
The items that provided larger negative contributions include potato crisps, cooking sauces and instant coffee.
Commenting on the inflation figures for January, ONS Chief Economist Grant Fitzner said: “Inflation was unchanged in January reflecting counteracting effects within the basket of goods and services.”
“The price of gas and electricity rose at a higher rate than this time last year due to the increase in the energy price cap, while the cost of second-hand cars went up for the first time since May.
“Offsetting these, prices of furniture and household goods decreased by more than a year ago and food prices fell on the month for the first time in over two years.”
“All of these factors combined resulted in no change to the headline rate this month.”
