Food Costs Push Living Index Up 0.9pc
Food prices drove the cost-of-living index up 0.9pc in June, matching January’s rise as the sharpest monthly increase in the first half of 2026.
Food prices drove the cost-of-living index up 0.9pc in June, matching January’s rise as the sharpest monthly increase in the first half of 2026.
Food and non-alcoholic drinks leapt 6.5pc from May, the largest rise among all spending groups that month and the chief cause of the climb in the consumer price index.
Recreation and culture costs rose by 1.2pc, while alcoholic drinks and tobacco went up by 0.7pc. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels were 0.5pc dearer, with furniture, household equipment and routine home repairs edging up by 0.1pc.
The index rose in four of the first six months of the year. It fell in February and was unchanged in April.
June’s rise came after a 0.4pc increase in May, when restaurants and hotels led the way with a 1.1pc rise.
Furniture, household equipment and home repair costs climbed by 0.9pc, followed by food and non-alcoholic drinks at 0.7pc. Clothing and footwear rose by 0.3pc, as did housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels.
April brought no change in the headline index, but the figures beneath it told a different story.
Recreation and culture costs soared by 22.5pc, the largest monthly rise for any spending group during the first half of the year.
Restaurants and hotels rose by 1.5pc, transport by 0.9pc and alcoholic drinks and tobacco by 0.6pc. Furniture, household equipment and routine home repairs increased by 0.4pc.
The index had risen by 0.4pc in March, after food and non-alcoholic drink prices jumped by 4.8pc.
Transport costs went up by 1.3pc and communication prices by 0.2pc. Education prices did not change.
February was the only month in the six-month spell to show a fall in the headline rate, though several household costs still went up.
Clothing and footwear rose by 1.5pc, miscellaneous goods and services by 1.1pc and alcoholic drinks and tobacco by 0.5pc. Housing and communication costs each increased by 0.3pc.
January opened the year with a 0.9pc rise from December 2025.
Recreation and culture prices climbed by 5.9pc, transport by 3.5pc and restaurants and hotels by 1.3pc. Miscellaneous goods and services rose by 1.1pc, while communication costs increased by 0.3pc.
Across the half-year, the biggest price rises were seen in food and non-alcoholic drinks, recreation and culture, restaurants and hotels, transport, household goods and housing costs.
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