Low income households continue to face inflation painpublished at 09:14 BST
09:14 BST
Dharshini David
Deputy economics editor
No
surprises here for analysts but this morning’s figures underscore the frustration many households feel.
Wages for many have risen at a faster pace than
inflation – but even for those people, they are frustrated that their money is
stretching a bit less further
than hoped.
It’s particularly painful for those on lower incomes, as the resurgence of inflation has
been rooted in staple products.
There’s anxiety too for homeowners or landlords, who hope
that interest rate cuts later this year may be looming.
But
much of the recent rise in inflation has been spurred by
global commodity prices – energy and food – and many of those pressures are subsiding.
One factor that has led to food inflation outstripping rates in Europe
is government policy.
The Bank of England are among economists
who’ve suggested that measures such as higher National Insurance
Contributions and minimum wages may have added more than 1% to food prices, while adding to cost pressures elsewhere.
Those
too should pass – but could there be more? The boss of Aldi has warned that more price rises may loom, depending on Budget measures.
The government
says the Budget will help to ease the cost of living pressures
on consumers and businesses – we will have to wait to see exactly what that means.
We’re ending our live coverage of today’s inflation news but you can read our full report here.