Inflation and prices: your questions answered
Where to find the UK inflation rate, how CPI, CPIH and RPI are measured, and how to check claims about prices.
What is the difference between CPI, CPIH and RPI?
All three are ONS price indices, but they cover different things. CPI is the internationally comparable measure the Bank of England targets. CPIH is CPI plus owner occupiers' housing costs and council tax, and is the ONS's lead measure. RPI is an older index that includes mortgage interest payments and uses a formula the ONS says overstates inflation; it lost its National Statistics status in 2013.
Full answer, with the latest figure and past values →
Related: What is the current UK inflation rate? · Are wages rising faster than inflation in the UK?
What is the current UK inflation rate?
The UK's headline inflation rate is the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) 12-month rate, published by the ONS once a month, usually on a Wednesday in the middle of the month. The latest figure, the month it covers and the previous month's rate are at the top of the ONS consumer price inflation bulletin.
Full answer, with the latest figure and past values →
Related: What is the difference between CPI, CPIH and RPI? · What is the UK inflation target?
What is the UK inflation target?
The target is 2% CPI inflation, set each year by the Chancellor in a remit letter to the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee. The Bank sets Bank Rate to meet it.
Full answer, with the latest figure and past values →
Related: What is the Bank of England base rate today? · Is UK inflation going down?
How is UK inflation measured?
The ONS tracks the prices of a "basket" of around 700 goods and services each month, collecting about 180,000 prices from shops, websites and other sources. Each item is weighted by how much households spend on it, and the basket is updated every year to reflect changing habits.
The inflation rate is the percentage change in the index compared with the same month a year earlier. The ONS publishes the basket contents, weights and methods, so you can see what was added or removed each spring.
Related: What is the current UK inflation rate? · What is the difference between CPI, CPIH and RPI?
Is UK inflation going down?
To check the direction of inflation, look at the CPI 12-month rate over the last several months in the ONS time series rather than one month's change. A falling rate means prices are still rising, but more slowly; it does not mean prices are falling unless the rate goes below zero.
For the expected path, the Bank of England publishes inflation projections in its quarterly Monetary Policy Report, and the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts inflation twice a year. Those are forecasts, and should be quoted as such, with their date.
Related: What is the current UK inflation rate? · What is the UK inflation target?
Source guides for this topic
- Bank of England Statistical Interactive Database
- Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) energy and emissions statistics, and Ofgem energy price cap data
- HM Land Registry Price Paid Data and the UK House Price Index
- UK poverty and household income statistics (DWP, ONS, DESNZ, Low Pay Commission and devolved governments)
These answers say where official figures are published and how they are defined. They give no verdict on any claim. To report an error, send a correction request.