Abacus Daily Debt News

Inflation rises 0.2%

The rate of inflation rose by 3.2 per cent last month, the Office for National Statistics has revealed.

This was up on January’s figure of three per cent for consumer prices index (CPI) inflation, defying many economists’ warnings that deflation may occur.

Only one downward contribution to the CPI rate came from gas and electricity costs, which remained unchanged during the month, but were lower than last year’s levels when energy providers introduced price hikes.

Despite this, Age Concern and Help the Aged have warned that the elderly still struggle to afford fuel bills and are suffering from high inflation.

"They’re not benefiting from falls in mortgage interest and are spending a large chunk of their income on food and fuel, for which prices remain high," explained Age Concern director general Gordon Lishman.

He added that the income from savings that many older people rely on has been "blown away" by interest rate cuts.

By Jamie Price