Which prices are increasing the most and what's behind growing inflation?

Inflation hit a new 30-year high of 6.2% last month, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The consumer prices index (CPI) surged more than expected, the ONS said, and could reach 8% next month.

Sky News takes a look at which prices are increasing the most.

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Housing costs

Housing costs and services increased by 7.2% in the last year and were the biggest contributor to growing inflation, the ONS said.

This is due to price rises for gas and electricity following the 12% increase in the government’s cap on energy prices on 1 October 2021.

Inflation rates for electricity were 19.2% for electricity and 28.3% for gas in the year to February.

Rental prices were also up 2.3% and costs for those living in their own home rose by 2.5%.

Fuel

Transport costs have seen an increase of 11.5% in the year to February – the biggest increase of all categories measured by the Office for National Statistics and the other key contributor to growing inflation.

This was mainly due to skyrocketing petrol and diesel prices which hit record levels last month.

The average price of petrol was 147.6p per litre in February, while diesel was at 151.7p per litre.

These are set to continue contributing to inflation, with the price of petrol now at £1.67 and diesel reaching £1.79 after sanctions were imposed on Russian oil in response to the war in Ukraine.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that increased transport costs have knock-on effects on the price of other products and services.

The ONS said used car prices grew as the pandemic encouraged people to look for alternatives to public transport that would keep them safe from the virus.

A global semiconductor shortage has also affected the production of new cars and led to more second-hand cars being purchased.

Furniture, household equipment and maintenance

Prices for furniture, household equipment and maintenance rose by 9.2% in the past year, the ONS said.

Furniture and furnishings saw the largest price hikes.

Clothing and footwear

Clothing and footwear prices have increased by 8.9% due to “unusual price movements” during the pandemic.

Prices last February were lower than usual and fell after England entered its third lockdown on 6 January and forced non-essential retail shops to close, with other COVID restrictions in place elsewhere in the UK.

But this year they returned to their normal pattern, which is to rise between January and February as new stock enters shops after the new year sales period.

This resulted in a larger annual jump.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages

Food and non-alcoholic drinks prices were up 5.1% in the past year and 0.9% from January, compared to 0.3% from January to February last year.

The increase from January to February this year was largest change during this time frame since 2012.

In the past month, the costs of bottled water, soft drinks, juices, meat, sugar, jam, syrups, chocolate and sweets went up the most.

These are the key rises compared to last February:

• coffee, tea and hot chocolate: 7.5%
• oils and fats: 6.7%
• fruit: 6.2%
• bottled water, soft drinks and juices: up 6.1%
• milk, cheese and eggs: 6.1%
• meat: 5.2%
• bread and cereals: 4.9%
• vegetables: 4.2%
• fish: 3.2%
• sugar, jam, syrups and sweets: 3.5%

The growing cost of wheat has affected the price of many food products.

The price of a bushel of wheat was $6.34 back in February last year and hit $9.34 by the end of last month.

It has since peaked – on 8 March – at $12.86 – double the figure in February 2021 and is trading today at $11.23.

A bushel produces enough flour to bake 70 1lb loaves of white bread or 90 1lb wholemeal ones.

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Russia and Ukraine accounted for 30% of global wheat exports before the war and Ukraine is now struggling to get its wheat out of the country, resulting in global food shortages that are expected to increase food prices even further.

Soaring costs for fertiliser, animal feed – often made up of wheat – and fuel are all affecting farmers, who are passing on the increases to consumers.

Alcoholic beverages and tobacco

The price of spirits actually dropped by 0.1%, while wine and beer saw smaller rises than for food – at 2.8% and 1.3% respectively.

Tobacco has become 5.7% more expensive.

Restaurants and hotels

Restaurant and hotel bills grew by 5.0%.

The ONS said these increases should be interpreted with caution because many restaurants and hotels were closed during lockdowns across the UK and accurate pricing information was not available.

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Recreation and culture

The largest contributor to increasing inflation from January to February this year came from the costs of culture and recreation, especially “games, toys and hobbies”, the ONS said.

They typically fall in price between January and February but this year they went up.

In the past year the price of culture and recreation has grown by 4.7%.

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Computer games and more traditional toys are becoming more expensive but the ONS said price movements for the former can sometimes be large depending on what games are being released.

Prices of DVDs rose this year instead of falling, while sporting equipment – such as golf balls and tennis racquets – and pet food played a role.

Other categories

Prices for health and communication services were the lowest of all rises, at 2.6% and 1.1% respectively.

Education costs went up by 4.5%, while for private health expenses the figure was 2.6%.

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