The easing in the annual CPI rate into December 2022 was driven by contributions from 7 of the 12 divisions. The largest downward contribution to the change of 0.10 percentage points came from transport, with further large downward contribution from clothing and footwear (0.07 percentage points).

UK’s consumer prices index increased by 10.5 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in December 2022, down from 10.7 per cent in November and 11.1 per cent in October, according to ONS. The slowing of CPI rate between November and December was mainly due to CPI prices rising 0.4 per cent in December 2022, compared with a larger rise of 0.5 per cent a year earlier.

Prices of clothing and footwear rose, overall, by 6.4 per cent in the year to December 2022, down from 7.5 per cent in November. On a monthly basis, prices fell by 0.3 per cent between November and December 2022. This is primarily a base effect, as prices usually fall into December each year. Prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, clothing and footwear prices on average fell by 1.3 per cent in the month to December (between 2017 and 2019). The downward effect in 2022 was principally from garments.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)