The largest upward contribution to the monthly change in the CPI annual rate came from housing and household services, where prices of gas and electricity fell by less than they did last year, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

Core CPI—excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco—rose by 3.3 per cent in the 12 months to July 2024—down from 3.5 per cent in June. The CPI goods annual rate rose from minus 1.4 per cent to minus 0.6 per cent.

The CPI for clothing and footwear rose by 2.1 per cent in the 12 months to July 2024—up from 1.6 per cent in June. On a monthly basis, this index fell by 1.7 per cent in July, compared with a fall of 2.2 per cent in July last year, an ONS release said.

Producer input and producer output (factory gate) prices rose by 0.4 per cent and 0.8 per cent in the year to July 2024 compared with a revised annual growth rate of zero per cent and 1 per cent respectively in June.

On a monthly basis, producer input prices fell by 0.1 per cent, while factory gate prices saw no change in July.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)