What is the current rpi rate for England?

Answer 1

Inflation

CPI up to 3.2%, RPI down to 0.0%

Annual inflation rates - 12 month percentage change

Consumer Prices Index (CPI) annual inflation - the Government's target measure - was 3.2 per cent in February, up from 3.0 per cent in January.

The largest upward pressure on the CPI annual rate came from food and non-Alcoholic Beverages. The effect was widespread but the largest individual factor was the price of vegetables which rose by more than a year ago. There were smaller upward pressures from fruit, mineral waters, soft drinks and juices, bread and cereals, and meat, partially offset by coffee, tea and cocoa where prices fell this year but rose a year ago.

There were further large upward pressures from:

• recreation and culture where, overall, prices rose by more than a year ago. The effect came mainly from a wide range of games, toys and hobbies and from computer games and preschool activity toys in particular.

• transport costs, mainly due to the price of fuels and lubricants which rose by more than a year ago. The average price of petrol rose by 3.2 pence per litre between January and February this year, to stand at 89.5 pence, compared with a rise of 0.1 pence last year. Diesel prices rose by 2.1 pence per litre this year compared with a rise of 0.5 pence last year. Within this division, there was a partially offsetting downward effect from air fares, principally from European and long-haul routes.

• furniture, household equipment and maintenance with upward effects from major appliances and non-durable household goods.

• clothing and footwear where prices rose by more than a year ago.

The only large downward pressure on the CPI annual rate came from housing and household services. This was due to gas and electricity bills which were unchanged this year but rose a year ago when many suppliers increased their rates.

Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation slowed to 0.0 per cent in February, down from 0.1 per cent in January. The main factors affecting the CPI also affected the RPI. Additionally, there was a large downward pressure from housing with the main effect coming from mortgage interest payments which are excluded from the CPI.

RPIX inflation - the all items RPI excluding mortgage interest payments - was 2.5 per cent in February, up from 2.4 per cent in January.

As an internationally comparable measure of inflation, the CPI shows that the UK inflation rate in January, at 3.0 per cent, was above the provisional figure for the European Union as a whole of 1.7 per cent.

Notes:

CPI is the Consumer Prices Index. It is the measure adopted by the Government for its UK inflation target. The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee is required to achieve a target of 2 per cent. Prior to 10 December 2003, the CPI was published in the UK as the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP).

RPI is the Retail Prices Index. The uses of the RPI and its derivatives include indexation of pensions, state benefits and index-linked gilts.

Inflation is the percentage change in the index compared with the same month one year previously.

The next publication date is 21 April 2009.

Published on 24 March 2009 at 9:30 am on UK National Statistics webpage

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?ID=19