14th February 2024
Wednesday
The United Kingdom is poised to unveil its year-over-year Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures on February 14th, providing key insights into the nation's inflation trends.
GBP - CPI y/y
This statement refers to the regular monthly evaluation of changes in the prices of consumer goods and services, typically released around 16 days after each month ends. This information is crucial in the UK, where it acts as the main gauge for the central bank to track and manage inflation. Prices paid by consumers make up a significant part of the overall inflation picture. Inflation's impact on the value of money is significant, as rising prices can lead the central bank to increase interest rates to fulfill its role in keeping inflation in check. The process involves comparing the current average prices of a broad selection of goods and services with those from a year ago.
In December 2023, the UK's annual inflation rate unexpectedly climbed to 4%, up from a near two-year low of 3.9% in November and surpassing the anticipated 3.8%. This marks the first rise in the inflation rate in ten months. The most significant increase was in the prices of alcohol and tobacco, which jumped to 12.9% from 10.2%, largely due to higher tobacco duty. There was also a noticeable rise in the recreation and culture sector, including items like DVDs, computer software, games consoles, sports equipment, toys, and package holidays, climbing to 5.7% from 5.3%. Other areas experiencing inflation growth included clothing and footwear (up to 6.4% from 5.7%), furniture and household equipment (rising to 2.5% from 2.3%), and communication (increasing to 8.5% from 8.1%). Conversely, inflation rates decreased for food and non-alcoholic beverages (falling to 8% from 9.2%), driven by lower prices of milk, cheese, and eggs; health (dropping to 7.3% from 7.4%); restaurants and hotels (down to 7% from 7.5%); and transport (declining to -1.1% from -1.5%). Month-over-month, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.4%, while the core CPI increased by 0.6%, keeping the annual rate steady at 5.1%.
TL;DR
Sector Inflation Rate December 2023 Inflation Rate November 2023 Change 1 Overall Inflation 4.0% 3.9% +0.1% 2 Alcohol & Tobacco 12.9% 10.2% +2.7% 3 Recreation & Culture 5.7% 5.3% +0.4% 4 Clothing & Footwear 6.4% 5.7% +0.7% 5 Furniture & Household Equipment 2.5% 2.3% +0.2% 6 Communication 8.5% 8.1% +0.4% 7 Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages 8.0% 9.2% -1.2% 8 Health 7.3% 7.4% -0.1% 9 Restaurants & Hotels 7.0% 7.5% -0.5% 10 Transport -1.1% -1.5% +0.4%
The projectedCPI y/ybasis is expected to show a modest rise, reaching4.1%from the earlier figure of4%.
The upcomingCPI y/y report is scheduled for release onWednesday at 7:00 AM GMT.
The last time, theBritish CPI y/ywas announced on the 15th of January, 2024. You may find the market reaction chart(GBPJPY M5) below:
