Inflation up to 2.1%

The Consumer Price Indices (CPI), or Inflation, rose 2.1% in October according to The Office for National Statistics...

Inflation up to 2.1%

Small Business News - 12^th November 2007

The Consumer Price Indices (CPI) saw Inflation up at 2.1% in October according to The Office for National Statistics (ONS).

September's inflation figure was 1.8% but rising petrol prices and the rising cost of food have since pushed inflation up. The government's target is to keep inflation at 2% or less.

The price of petrol rose by 2.7p a litre last month, mainly due to the government's 2p fuel duty rise on October 1^st.

Downward contributions to the CPI were due to a drop in energy prices with both gas and electricity bills falling slightly due to the phasing-in of tariff reductions.

The Retail Price Index (RPI), the figure upon which many pay rises are based, also rose last month from 3.9% to 4.2%.

Last Thursday, The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept interest rates at 5.75% so the rise in CPI and RPI could add pressure to the MPC's decision on what do over the following months.