iInflation rose above market estimates to reach 3.5% in September, as fuel and transport costs surged two points to 6.6%.
However, food price inflation remained steady at a 1.3% rate over the 12 months to September, and ONS estimates even suggested a 0.2% drop in food prices in the month between August and September.
Transport costs represented the highest upswing in prices of any category, as petrol prices rose 8.2p per litre in the month to 169.5p – the highest price recorded since August 2022.
Diesel prices likewise stood at their highest since July 2022, at 192.5p per litre.
The surge in fuel costs has arrived after an escalation and return to direct hostilities between the US and Iran in early September, which tightened up worldwide supply of oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital petrochemical shipping lane in the Arab Gulf.
FDF chief economist Liliana Danila warned that it was only a matter of time before the multiple spikes in oil prices make their way through the supply chain into food prices.
“There’s no doubt that the cost of producing food in the UK is rising. On top of mounting regulatory pressures, input costs are rising across the board. Diesel prices are up two fifths and petrol around a third, while gas prices have more than doubled since February and the UK’s industrial electricity prices remain the highest in Europe,” she said.
“Packaging and ingredient costs are also rising. We expect that these increases will start to appear in consumer prices into next year.”
No comments yet