UK inflation hits 40-year high of 9% as energy bills soar
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Loading... - james benjamin
- 18 May 2022
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UK inflation, the rate at which prices rise, jumped to 9% in the 12 months to April, up from 7% in March.
The surge came as millions of people saw an unprecedented £700-a-year increase in energy costs last month.
Higher fuel and food prices, driven by the Ukraine war, are also pushing the cost of living up, with inflation expected to continue to rise this year.
Citizens Advice said "the warning lights could not be flashing brighter" for the government to offer more support for households, and debt charities urged anyone finding it difficult to pay bills to seek help earlier rather than later in the year.
Prices are rising at their fastest rate for 40 years as higher energy bills hit millions of households.
UK inflation, the rate at which prices rise, jumped to 9% in the 12 months to April, up from 7% in March.
The surge came as millions of people saw an unprecedented £700-a-year increase in energy costs last month.
Higher fuel and food prices, driven by the Ukraine war, are also pushing the cost of living up, with inflation expected to continue to rise this year.
Citizens Advice said "the warning lights could not be flashing brighter" for the government to offer more support for households, and debt charities urged anyone finding it difficult to pay bills to seek help earlier rather than later in the year.
Health analyst Cheryl Holmes, a mother-of-two, said she was trying to keep her living costs down to "as low as possible" by spending less on food and clothes, and cancelling TV subscriptions.
"I've already for several years been turning the lights off in each room, setting the heating on a timer, making sure I'm using a full dishwasher and washing machine and I'm running out of ideas.
"It's a battle and it seems like there's not really much more that I can do."
A higher energy price cap - which is the maximum price per unit that suppliers can charge customers - kicked in last month, meaning homes using a typical amount of gas and electricity are now paying £1,971 per year on average.
Up until now households of all incomes had faced similar rates of inflation, but the poorest are now being hit hardest by rising prices due to them having to spend far more of their household budgets on gas and electricity, think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said.
The ONS, which publishes the UK's inflation rate, said the rising cost of raw materials for food products, transport equipment and metals meant prices were climbing in goods leaving factories as manufacturers passed on higher costs.
"All items" on the menus of restaurants and cafes increased last month, which the UK statistics body said was due to the VAT rate for hospitality returning to 20% in April, after being cut to 12.5% to aid businesses recovering from the pandemic. Read More…
