Inflation jumped further above the Bank of England’s target in June when it hit 2.5%, its highest since August 2018 and up from 2.1% in May.
Higher prices for food, fuel, second-hand cars, clothing and footwear all pushed inflation up last month as the economy bounced back from its lockdown slump, the Office for National Statistics said.
The Bank Of England has said inflation will peak above 3% before falling back.
The price of petrol rose by 2.5 pence per litre between May and June this year, compared with a rise of 0.3 pence per litre a year ago when prices were starting to recover from a four-year low of 106.2 pence per litre in May 2020.
Similarly, diesel prices rose by 2.4 pence per litre this year, compared with a fall of 0.7 pence per litre a year ago. The average price of diesel was 112.7 pence per litre in June 2020, the lowest since August 2016. The movements reflect changes in oil prices as demand was affected last year by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Second-hand car prices rose between May and June this year whereas in recent years, they have fallen between these months. There are reports of prices rising as a result of increasing demand following the end of the latest national lockdown. Some buyers are reported to have turned to the used car market as a result of delays in the supply of new cars caused by the shortage of semiconductor chips used in their production.
