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Overview

The cost of living has risen in the UK and across the world since 2022.

Food and energy prices rose markedly, particularly gas prices, partly in response to the conflict in Ukraine. Global recovery from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic put further pressure on prices.

In the UK, prices of consumer goods and services rose by 9.6% in the year to October 2022 – the fastest rate in four decades. Since then the annual inflation rate, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupier’s housing costs (CPIH), has slowed.

In the year to January 2024 the annual CPIH inflation rate was 4.2%, unchanged from the previous two months.

You can explore how the prices of over 450 items in the inflation basket have increased over the past year with our shopping prices comparison tool.

You can use our Personal Inflation Calculator to get your own, personalised inflation rate based on what you spend your money on.

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Housing: House prices fall while private rents continue to see record rise

Average UK house prices are estimated to have fallen 1.4% in the year to December 2023 (provisional estimate). This is up from a decrease of 2.3% in the 12 months to November 2023 (revised estimate).    

Private rental prices continued to grow at a record high rate in the UK, rising by 6.2% (provisional estimate) in the year to January 2024, unchanged for the second consecutive month. This remains the highest annual percentage change since this UK data series began in January 2016.

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Food: Inflation falls to lowest level since April 2022

Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 7.0% in the year to January 2024 according to the latest Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH).

This was the tenth consecutive month of falls in food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation, down from 8.0% in December and a recent high of 19.2% in March 2023, which was the highest annual rate seen for over 45 years.

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Energy: Around 4 in 10 energy bill payers struggling to afford payments

Around 4 in 10 adults (41%) who pay energy bills said it was very or somewhat difficult to afford them.  

This was according to those asked between 17 and 28 January 2024 as part of our latest Public opinions and social trends bulletin.

This proportion was at a high of 49% in the period covering 17 to 29 May 2023, but appears to have slowly decreased since then.

The survey also revealed that 44% of adults in Great Britain are using less fuel, such as gas or electricity, in their homes because of the rising cost of living.

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How this affects you

Personal inflation calculator
Tell us what you spend your money on to see how this affects your inflation rate.
Shopping prices comparison
Use our tool to see how the average price of hundreds of shopping items are changing. 
How does your area compare?
Compare living standards in your local authority with other local authorities and the UK average. 

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