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Story · United Kingdom · 16 Sept 2026

UK CPI inflation was 3.1% in the 12 months to August 2026

UK CPI inflation was 3.1% in the 12 months to August 2026, while consumer prices rose 0.5% over the month.

Inflation
Relevance date 16 Sept 2026, 06:00Updated 1 Oct 2026, 10:04Exam relevance 93/100
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Verified sources

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Primary sourceOffice for National Statistics →Consumer price inflation, UK: August 2026
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3.1%

UK CPI annual inflation

0.5%

UK CPI monthly change

2.6%

UK core CPI annual inflation

Exam link: Inflation → real incomes and purchasing power → consumption; policy response depends on the cause

Story toolsReport / correction
Understand the storyExpand

The Office for National Statistics reported UK CPI inflation of 3.1% in the 12 months to August 2026. CPI rose 0.5% over the month, while core CPI inflation was 2.6%.

What happened

UK consumer-price inflation was 3.1% in the 12 months to August 2026. On a monthly basis CPI rose 0.5%, and the core CPI annual rate was 2.6%.

Why it matters

UK CPI is a key measure of the change in household consumer prices. Inflation affects real incomes, business costs, interest-rate expectations and the trade-off facing monetary policy.

Economic context

For A-Level Economics, this is direct UK evidence for inflation, cost-push and demand-pull pressures, real purchasing power and monetary policy. Separate the annual inflation rate from the one-month price movement when using it in analysis.

All key dataExpand
UK CPI monthly change
0.5%
UK CPI annual inflation
3.1%
UK core CPI annual inflation
2.6%
Terms explainedExpand

Core inflation

Inflation excluding especially volatile items, commonly food and energy, to show underlying price pressure more clearly.

Use it in an examExpand

Evidence

UK CPI inflation was 3.1% in the 12 months to August 2026, while consumer prices rose 0.5% over the month.

Explain

UK CPI is a key measure of the change in household consumer prices. Inflation affects real incomes, business costs, interest-rate expectations and the trade-off facing monetary policy.

Evaluate

For A-Level Economics, this is direct UK evidence for inflation, cost-push and demand-pull pressures, real purchasing power and monetary policy. Separate the annual inflation rate from the one-month price movement when using it in analysis.

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