The ONS, which is the Office of National Statistics, the UK's largest independent producer of official statistics, has released the latest data in regards to the cost of living crisis, and it's not a very positive read!
Around 9 in 10 adults continue to report their cost of living had risen over the past month.
89% of adults in Great Britain continued to report their cost of living had risen over the past month, according to our Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN) for 3 to 14 August. This is an increase since the question was first asked in the period 3 to 14 November 2021 (62%).
The survey also revealed that around three-quarters of adults (76%) were very or somewhat worried about the rising cost of living.
Energy bills were also a concern for 45% (more than 4 in 10) of adults who pay them, who said found it very or somewhat difficult to afford them.
Annual inflation was 0.9 percentage points higher for low-income households than high-income households in the year to June 2022
Rising energy prices pushed low-income households' inflation rates above those for high-income households in the first half of 2022, with food and non-alcoholic beverages also contributing more to inflation for low-income households.
The Consumer Prices Index, including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH), is the ONS's most comprehensive measure of consumer price inflation.
Experimental data show that CPIH annual inflation stood at 8.7% for low-income households (those in the second income decile) and at 7.8% for high-income households (those in the ninth income decile) in the year to June 2022, compared with an all-households rate of 8.2%.
The gap between low-income households and high-income households of 0.9 percentage points is the largest since June 2010, when higher-income households saw a higher inflation rate than low-income households.
The most significant increases in prices in July 2022 came from housing and household services, transport and food.
The rate at which the prices of goods and services bought by households was 8.8% in the 12 months to July 2022, up from 8.2% in June, according to the Consumer Prices Index, including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH).
The most significant upward contributions to the annual CPIH inflation rate in July 2022 came from housing and household services (mainly from electricity, gas and other fuels, and owner occupiers' housing costs), transport (mainly motor fuels), and food and non-alcoholic beverages.
Average UK pump prices decreased in recent weeks but remain much higher than this time last year
According to data from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on 22 August 2022, unleaded petrol prices were 3.1 pence per litre lower than the week before but 36.5 pence per litre higher than last year. Diesel prices were 2.2 pence per litre lower than the week before but 45.8 pence per litre higher than last year.
Both real total and regular pay fell, with a record fall for real regular pay.
Average pay, including bonuses (total pay), fell by 2.5% in the year from April to June 2022.
After considering inflation and excluding bonuses (real regular pay), it fell by 3.0% – the biggest fall since records began in 2001.
UK average house prices increased by 7.8% in the year to June 2022
UK average house prices increased by 7.8% in the year to June 2022, down from 12.8% in May 2022.
The average UK house price was £286,000 in June 2022, £20,000 higher than this time last year. Despite UK house prices increasing between May and June 2022, annual house price inflation has slowed due to the rises in prices seen in June 2021, which resulted from tax break changes.
Average house prices increased over the year in England to £305,000 (7.3%), in Wales to £213,000 (8.6%), in Scotland to £192,000 (11.6%) and in Northern Ireland to £169,000 (9.6%).
Newer data will be released after the new energy price cap is announced by Ofgem on Friday, 26th August. So it's fair to say that new data is likely to reflect the concern of the UK public regarding how high the new energy prices are expected to rise.
A new Prime Minister will be in charge in early September, and following the new price increases on energy, they are expected to lay out their plan on how the government will be looking to help the UK households, and time will tell as to whether this will make a big enough impact to alleviate the publics concerns.