Where inflation jumped in June – and where it eased

Sharp rises in the cost of air and train travel, along with a jump in the price of food and clothing, helped push the UK’s overall rate of inflation in June to its highest level for nearly a year and a half.

The average cost of train tickets was 8.4% higher last month than a year earlier, compared with a 4.9% increase in May.

Air tickets swung from being 3.9% lower year on year in May to 0.5% higher last month: the largest June increase in fares since 2018, according to data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Annual food price inflation also pushed up the cost of living, hitting the highest level since February 2024 – at 4.5% including non-alcoholic drinks, up from 4.4% in May.

Prices

This marked the third month in a row of rising food prices.

Inflation accelerated both for women’s clothes, where prices were up 2.3% annually in June compared with 1.5% in May, and men’s clothes, up 1.0% compared with 0.1%.

Children’s clothes were affected as well, with the average cost down 2.1% year on year last month, a smaller fall than the 3.4% drop in May, reflecting a rise in prices in shops.

Among household groceries, inflation picked up pace in June for margarine, butter, whole milk, dried fruit, yoghurt, mineral water and cheese.

Both petrol and diesel recorded a negative rate of inflation last month, but by a smaller margin than in May, indicating a jump in the cost of filling up at the pumps.

The average price of petrol in June was down 9.5% year on year, compared with a fall of 11.0% the previous month, while diesel was down 8.6% compared with a previous drop also of 11.0%.

Not everything saw a rise in cost last month, however.

Fall

Items where prices fell faster year on year in June than in May included olive oil, sugar and rice, along with kitchenware such as cookers, washing machines and dishwashers.

Inflation eased for ice cream, which stood at just 0.5% in June compared with 7.6% in May, as well as for the breakfast essentials of fruit juice, cereal, coffee and tea.

Below are some examples of how the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation rate has eased or accelerated.

Two figures are listed for each item: the average rise in price in the 12 months to May, followed by the average rise in price in the 12 months to June.

– Examples where annual inflation has accelerated, ranked by the size of change:

Refrigerators/freezers: May down 5.5%, June up 1.7%

Margarine/other vegetable fats: May up 1.2%, June up 7.8%

Passenger air travel: May down 3.9%, June up 0.5%

Passenger train travel: May up 4.9%, June up 8.4%

Children’s footwear: May down 0.8%, June up 1.9%

Whole milk: May up 5.9%, June up 8.4%

Dried fruit/nuts: May up 4.9%, June up 7.4%

Children’s clothes: May down 3.4%, June down 2.1%

Yoghurt: May up 1.9%, June up 3.0%

Mineral water: May up 3.9%, June up 5.0%

Men’s clothes: May up 0.1%, June up 1.0%

Women’s clothes: May up 1.5%, June up 2.3%

Cheese/curd: May up 4.9%, June up 5.2%

– Examples where annual inflation has eased:

Edible ices/ice cream: May up 7.6%, June up 0.5%

Cookers: May up 2.3%, June down 2.1%

Olive oil: May down 6.0, June down 9.6%

Irons: May down 3.3%, June down 6.4%

Fruit/vegetable juices: May up 6.4%, June up 3.6%

Breakfast cereals: May up 4.8%, June up 2.2%

Coffee: May up 13.9%, June up 12.3%

Chocolate: May up 17.7%, June up 16.3%

Sugar: May down 1.3%, June down 2.6%

Washing machines/dryers/dishwashers: May down 1.2%, June down 2.0%

Tea: May up 1.2%, June up 0.5%

New cars: May up 3.5%, June up 3.1%

Rice: May down 2.9%, June down 3.1%