UK consumer price index rose less than expected in March

According to the report from Office for National Statistics, the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 0.7% in the 12 months to March 2021, up from 0.4% to February 2021. Economists had expected a 0.8% increase. On a monthly basis, CPI rose by 0.3% in March 2021, compared with little change in March 2020.

The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) rose by 1.0% in the 12 months to March 2021, up from 0.7% to February.

The largest upward contribution to the CPIH 12-month inflation rate came from transport (0.44 percentage points).

Rising prices for motor fuels and clothing resulted in the largest upward contributions to the change in the CPIH 12-month inflation rate between February and March 2021. These were partially offset by falls in the price of food.

On a monthly basis, the CPIH rose by 0.2% in March 2021, compared with little change in March 2020.

As a result of the ongoing restrictions caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the number of CPIH items identified as unavailable in March 2021 was 67, accounting for 8.2% of the basket by weight; this is slightly down from 69 in February 2021; for the March 2021 price collection, we collected a weighted total of 82.2% of comparable coverage collected before the first lockdown (excluding unavailable items).