Rising energy bills cause inflation to surge
14/10/2008
The rate of inflation in September rose to 5.2 per cent, due to the increasingly high gas and electricity bills most households had to pay. Gas prices were 16.6 per cent higher than in August, and electricity rose by 10.3 per cent. This resulted in annual increases of 49.9 per cent and 30.3 per cent respectively.
Inflation is generally measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which has an official target of 2 per cent. September's rate was the highest since March 1992.
It's not all doom and gloom however: the common opinion amongst analysts is that the CPI has peaked, and inflation will start to fall dramatically in the next few months.
The other measure of inflation - the Retail Price Index (RPI) rose to 5 per cent in September.
State pensions are linked to the RPI, and they are due to be re-assessed this month. Single people receiving the basic state pension will receive an extra £4.54 a week, while couples will receive an extra £7.26.
This is not the good news it might sound like, however. Mervyn Kohler, special adviser for Help the Aged, said: "Although five per cent is large by the standards of recent years, it totally fails to reflect the dramatic increases pensioners are facing in food and fuel. Research released last week showed that in reality, our oldest and poorest pensioners face an inflation rate of around nine per cent, far higher than the general rate of inflation."
Inflation is generally measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which has an official target of 2 per cent. September's rate was the highest since March 1992.
It's not all doom and gloom however: the common opinion amongst analysts is that the CPI has peaked, and inflation will start to fall dramatically in the next few months.
The other measure of inflation - the Retail Price Index (RPI) rose to 5 per cent in September.
State pensions are linked to the RPI, and they are due to be re-assessed this month. Single people receiving the basic state pension will receive an extra £4.54 a week, while couples will receive an extra £7.26.
This is not the good news it might sound like, however. Mervyn Kohler, special adviser for Help the Aged, said: "Although five per cent is large by the standards of recent years, it totally fails to reflect the dramatic increases pensioners are facing in food and fuel. Research released last week showed that in reality, our oldest and poorest pensioners face an inflation rate of around nine per cent, far higher than the general rate of inflation."
