Furniture prices remained high during September as overall inflation returns to its high seen earlier this year.
According to the latest Office for National for National Statistics (ONS) data, the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 10.1% in the 12 months to September 2022, up from 9.9% in August and returning to July’s recent high.
On a monthly basis, CPI rose by 0.5% in September 2022, compared with a rise of 0.3% in September 2021.
Furniture and furnishing prices stood at 13.7% in September, down from 15.2% in August, while rising from 10.3% compared to the same month last year. Price inflation eased to its lowest level so far this year, on par with that of January’s rate of also 13.7%.
The retail price of household furniture decreased to 14.1% in the month from 15.6%, while rising from 10.5% last year.
Garden furniture prices stood at a rate of 14.2%, down from 16.3% on last month, while carpets and other floorcoverings prices were at a rate of 7%, down from 8.1% the previous month and down from 9.6% last year.
Other household textile prices, including furnishings fabrics, curtains and bedding, saw a rate of 4%, down from 6.2% the previous month.
Meanwhile, Producer Price Inflation (PPI) saw the rate of furniture output prices, factory gate, rise 11.7% in September on the same month in 2021, while also up from a rise of 10.4% in August.
Furniture input prices, material cost of production, were up 11.9% in September on the same month last year, while down from a rise of 12.5% the previous month.
Overall, producer input prices rose by 20% in the year to September 2022, down from 20.9% in the year to August 2022, its third consecutive monthly fall.
Producer output (factory gate) prices rose by 15.9% in the year to September 2022, down from 16.4% in the year to August 2022. On a monthly basis, input prices increased by 0.4%, and output prices increased by 0.2% in September 2022.
Commenting on the inflation figures, ONS Director of Economic Statistics Darren Morgan said: “After last month’s small fall, headline inflation returned to its high seen earlier in the summer. The rise was driven by further increases across food, which saw its largest annual rise in over 40 years, while hotel prices also increased after falling this time last year.
“These rises were partially offset by continuing falls in the costs of petrol, with airline prices falling by more than usual for this time of year, and second-hand car prices also rising less steeply than the large increases seen last year.
“While still at a historically high rate, the costs facing businesses are beginning to rise more slowly, with crude oil prices actually falling in September.”
