UK Consumer Inflation Rate Rises by 2.1% in 12-Month to May, Up from 1.6% in April

The consumer price index in the UK increased slightly in May, including the costs of owner occupier’s housing (CPIH).

Source: Office of National Statistics.

FTSE 100 Index gains +0.017%

Transport was the largest contributor to the increase in CPIH by 0.72 percentage points. The monthly CPIH increased by 0.5% in May, which is higher than the same period in 2020.

The increase in prices of clothing, motor fuel, meals and drinks, and recreational products, more games and recording media lead to significant increase in CPIH the 12% inflation rate in May.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages reported significant decline in prices offsetting the increase in CPIH from other products, more so bread and cereals.

The easing of COVID-19 restrictions has reduced the number of items unavailable in the CPIH basket to only 27.