Inflation doubled to 0.6% in a month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has announced.
The organisation said the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rose in December from 0.3% in November. It comes as the coronavirus crisis continues to wreak havoc on the British economy, while experts believe avoiding a no-deal Brexit will benefit the country.
Jonathan Athow, the ONS’ deputy national statistician, explained: ‘Clothing prices put upward pressure on inflation in December, despite some evidence of continued discounting.
‘Transport costs, including air, sea and coach fares, as well as petrol prices, rose as some travel restrictions eased during parts of the month. These were partially offset by falling food prices, most notably for vegetables and meat.’
The organisation added that raw materials’ prices rose 0.2% on the year to December 2020, up from -0.3% in November 2020.
The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) 12-month inflation rate was 0.8% in December 2020, up from 0.6% in November 2020.
That is different to CPI because the owner occupiers’ housing costs (OOH) component accounts for around 16% of the CPIH.
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