UK services inflation (CPI)

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), series D7NN. Monthly, usually a Wednesday in the middle of the month, 7am; next release 21 October 2026

UK services inflation (CPI): every value, by year, with a CSV download →

What it measures

Services inflation is the 12-month rate for the services part of the Consumer Prices Index: things people pay for that are not physical goods, such as rents, restaurant meals, hairdressing, travel, insurance, mobile phone contracts and package holidays. The ONS splits CPI into goods and services each month. Many services prices depend heavily on wages, so the services rate is often read as a gauge of price pressure generated inside the UK, while goods prices are more exposed to global commodity prices and exchange rates.

How to read it

Compare the services rate with the goods rate in the same month: in August 2026 the ONS reported CPI services at 3.4% and goods at 2.7%. A few large, volatile items, such as airfares and package holidays, can move the services rate sharply in a single month, especially around Easter and the summer holidays, depending on when prices are collected. Some services prices, such as rents and phone contracts, change once a year, which creates jumps in particular months. The Bank of England discusses services inflation in its Monetary Policy Reports when explaining Bank Rate decisions.

Background

The ONS series starts in January 1989. The highest rate, 12.1%, was in April 1991. The lowest, 0.6%, was in August 2020, the month of the Eat Out to Help Out discount scheme and a temporary cut in VAT on hospitality. After the pandemic, services inflation rose to 7.4% in May 2023, its highest since March 1992, and then eased; it was 3.4% in August 2026.

Other parts of the UK

ONS consumer price inflation bulletin (UK only; no official regional CPI is published)

What is the UK services inflation rate?

When this page was checked on 13 October 2026, the ONS CPI services 12-month rate was 3.4% in August 2026, unchanged from July, published on 16 September 2026. The goods rate was 2.7%. The figure at the top of this page updates automatically with each CPI release.

Why does the Bank of England watch services inflation?

The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee pays close attention to services inflation because services prices depend more on wages and domestic demand than on world commodity prices. Its minutes and Monetary Policy Reports discuss services inflation as one indicator of how persistent inflation may be.

What is included in services inflation?

Items in CPI that are services rather than goods, including rents, restaurants and cafés, transport fares, holidays, insurance, phone and internet services, recreation and personal care. Owner occupiers' housing costs are not in CPI, but are in the services part of CPIH.

Why is services inflation higher than goods inflation?

It often is, because labour costs make up a larger share of services prices and productivity in many services grows slowly. Goods inflation moves more with energy, food and import prices, so it can fall faster and is sometimes negative.

Related questions

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More on this source: Bank of England Statistical Interactive Database