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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Ian Jones

Inflation: The everyday supermarket items that have gone up in price

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The jump in the overall rate of inflation in July to 2.2% has been caused by price rises accelerating across a range of everyday items, as well as the cost of some goods and services not falling quite as fast as they did in June.

Changes in the price of domestic fuels have helped drive the increase.

The average cost of household gas fell by 22.8% in the year to July, a much smaller decrease than the drop of 37.5% in the year to June.

The cost of electricity showed a similar trend, dropping by 19.5% in the year to July compared with a fall of 21.0% in the year to June.

Some items saw the rate of inflation accelerate.

These included:

Tea, where the average price jumped 8.4% in the 12 months to July compared with a smaller rise of 6.8% in the year to June.

Chocolate (up 6.7% in July compared with 5.3% in June)

Ice cream (up 4.3% in July, up 2.7% in June)

Fruit (up 2.7% in July, up 1.6% in June)

And women’s clothes (up 2.6% in July, up 1.8% in June), according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Children’s footwear saw a drop in price of 0.2% in the 12 months to June, but this was followed by a rise of 2.9% in the year to July.

(PA Graphics) (PA Graphics)

Other items saw prices falling less slowly in the year to July than the previous month, which will also have impacted the overall rise in inflation.

Examples included low-fat milk, which fell by 0.4% in price in the year to July compared with a larger fall of 2.8% in the year to June; margarine and other vegetable fats (down 2.1% in July compared with a drop of 3.8% in June); whole milk (down 1.0% in July, down 6.8% in June); pasta and couscous (down 2.6% in July, down 3.6% in June); and second-hand cars (down 8.4% in July, down 9.8% in June).

By contrast, some items saw the rate of inflation slow in the latest figures.

There was a sharp slowdown in the average price of hotels, motels and similar accommodation, which rose by 3.2% in the year to July compared with a much bigger jump of 9.9% in the year to June.

The cost of travelling by bus or coach was up by 6.2% in the year to July, compared with a rise of 9.6% in the year to June, while cinema, theatre and concert tickets were up 4.4% in July compared with an increase of 7.4% in June.

Grocery items that saw a slowing of inflation include crisps, up by 0.6% in price in the 12 months to July compared with 2.6% in June; coffee (up 0.1% in July, up 1.9% in June); pizza and quiche (up 0.8% in July, up 1.8% in June); eggs (up 1.4% in July, up 2.3% in June); and bread (up 1.1% in July, up 1.6% in June).

There are also a few items that have moved from positive to negative inflation, with the average price of fruit and vegetable juices falling by 1.3% in the year to July after rising by 4.5% in the year to June; the cost of table linen and bathroom linen, which fell by 2.5% in July after a rise of 2.0% in June; and sport equipment, down by 0.2% in July after rising 1.0% in June.

Meanwhile, the average price of cheese and curd fell faster in the year to July (down 4.3%) than in the year to June (down 3.1%), as did rice (down 2.7% in July, down 1.9% in June), fish (down 4.2% in July, down 2.1% in June) and passenger air travel (down 10.4% in July, down 0.9% in June).

Below is a list of examples of how the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation rate has either slowed or accelerated.

Two figures are listed for each item: the average rise in price in the 12 months to June, followed by the average rise in price in the 12 months to July.

Examples where inflation has slowed, ranked by the size of the change:

Hotels, motels & similar accommodation: June up 9.9%, July up 3.2%

Olive oil: June up 43.8%, July up 37.5%

Fruit & vegetable juices: June up 4.5%, July down 1.3%

Passenger transport by bus & coach: June up 9.6%, July up 6.2%

Cinemas, theatres, concerts: June up 7.4%, July up 4.4%

Fish: June down 2.1%, July down 4.2%

Dried vegetables: June down 2.7%, July down 4.7%

Crisps: June up 2.6%, July up 0.6%

Coffee: June up 1.9%, July up 0.1%

Cheese & curd: June down 3.1%, July down 4.3%

Petrol: June up 1.9%, July up 0.8%

Pizza & quiche: June up 1.8%, July up 0.8%

Eggs: June up 2.3%, July up 1.4%

Potatoes: June up 6.0%, July up 5.4%

Examples where inflation has accelerated:

Children’s footwear: June down 0.2%, July up 2.9%

Yoghurt: June up 0.5%, July up 2.8%

Tea: June up 6.8%, July up 8.4%

Edible ices & ice cream: June up 2.7%, July up 4.3%

Chocolate: June up 5.3%, June up 6.7%

Fruit: June up 1.6%, July up 2.7%

Mineral or spring waters: June up 4.2%, July up 5.2%

Women’s clothes: June up 1.8%, July up 2.6%

Ready-made meals: June up 3.6%, July up 4.2%

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