CPIH and CPI annual inflation rose for a second consecutive month in August 2026

UK consumer price inflation rose for a second consecutive month in the 12 months to August 2026, the Office for National Statistics said on 16 September 2026. The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH) rose by 3.3%, up from 3.1% in July, while the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 3.1%, up from 2.9%¹.

On a monthly basis, both CPIH and CPI rose by 0.5% in August 2026, compared with a rise of 0.3% in August 2025¹. The ONS said transport, particularly motor fuels, made the largest upward contribution to the change in both annual rates¹.

Measure	12 months to July 2026	12 months to August 2026
CPIH	3.1%	3.3%
CPI	2.9%	3.1%
Core CPIH	2.9%	2.9%
Core CPI	2.6%	2.6%
CPIH goods	2.2%	2.7%
CPIH services	3.6%	3.6%
OOH costs	3.7%	3.9%

Source: ONS, Table 1 and Main points¹

Core CPIH, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, was unchanged at 2.9%, and core CPI was unchanged at 2.6%¹. The CPIH goods annual rate rose from 2.2% to 2.7%, while the CPIH services annual rate was unchanged at 3.6%¹. The owner occupiers' housing (OOH) costs component accounts for approximately 18% of CPIH and rose by 3.9% over the year, up from 3.7%¹.

Transport prices rose overall by 4.6% in the 12 months to August 2026, up from 3.6% the previous month, and by 1.5% on the month compared with a rise of 0.4% a year earlier¹. Motor fuel prices rose by 23.0% over the 12 months, compared with a rise of 15.5% in July¹. The average price of petrol rose by 9.1 pence per litre between July and August 2026, to 161.3 pence per litre, the highest price recorded since November 2022; diesel rose by 14.2 pence per litre to 181.8 pence per litre¹.

"The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH) rose by 3.3% in the 12 months to August 2026, up from 3.1% the previous month."

Office for National Statistics, Consumer price inflation, UK: August 2026¹

Food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation was 1.3%, unchanged from July and last lower in September 2021¹. Housing and household services rose to 4.3% from 4.1%, with electricity, gas and other fuels at a 12-month rate of 6.0%¹. The ONS also said it identified a minor error in the classification of several products in its scanner-based consumption segments from February 2026, and that from 2030 at the earliest CPIH methods and data sources will be introduced into the RPI¹.

Why it matters for households

The August figures describe prices over the 12 months to August 2026, so they show how far the cost of the basket has moved rather than what any individual household pays. The rise was concentrated in goods, at 2.7%, while services inflation was unchanged at 3.6%¹. For households that buy fuel, the reported average petrol price of 161.3 pence per litre is the highest since November 2022, and motor fuel inflation of 23.0% is well above the headline rate¹.

Because CPIH includes owner occupiers' housing costs, which make up about 18% of the index, it captures a cost that CPI does not; OOH costs rose by 3.9% over the year¹. Food inflation of 1.3% was unchanged on the month and remains the lowest since September 2021¹. The CPI and CPIH measures are the headline figures used across the rates and economy landscape, and the difference between them is set out in our guide to CPIH and the Household Costs Index. What inflation means for household money is covered separately.