LONDON: The rising cost of foreign package holidays and imported computer games helped to push the UK inflation rate up to 2.9% last month from 2.7% in April. The latest inflation rate is the highest since June 2013, and above the Bank of England’s 2% target. The Office for National Statistics said food and clothing also went up in price slightly after falling 12 months ago. But the cost of petrol and diesel fell for the third successive month.
Computer games are part of the recreational and cultural goods and services sector, where prices rose overall by 0.9% between April and May compared with a fall of 0.4% a year ago. The sugar, jam, confectionery and children’s clothing markets were mainly responsible for the increase in food and clothing prices. There were also rises in the cost of furniture and household goods, and electricity, with further price increases coming into effect in May. Travellers did have some good news, however, with the decrease in fuel costs coupled with a drop in the cost of air and sea travel, which was influenced by Easter falling in April instead of March as in 2016.
