The rising cost of your morning routinepublished at 08:39 British Summer Time 17 August 2022

08:39 BST 17 August 2022

Kevin Peachey
Personal finance correspondent

Your morning routine will reflect how some of the biggest price rises are affecting you directly, according to the official figures.

The cost of heating the shower is one driver. Also going up sharply are the costs of toothbrushes, deodorant, and toilet roll.

Pop downstairs to feed the cat or dog – the pet food you are giving them has seen big price increases.

Then there are the bakery products that you are eating for breakfast or popping in the packed lunch, which have been getting more expensive.

All are essentials. All are highlighted in this month’s inflation data, showing how this is more than just a number.

Cabinet minister Kit Malthouse says the next prime minister will need to be prepared for a challenging winter "and possibly beyond".

Reacting to UK inflation hitting 10.1%, Malthouse tells the the BBC that the government is "moving quickly" with support payments totalling £37 billion.

Over the summer, the cabinet is putting the government on a “war footing” so that the new prime minister “is able to make quick decisions” on how to tackle the cost of living crisis, he adds.

"The new prime minister will have to move quickly to take whatever steps they think it appropriate for what will be a challenging winter and possibly beyond," he tells the BBC Breakfast programme.

Every month there's a new figure for inflation - it estimates how much prices are rising across the economy. But the price rises we experience depend on what we spend our money on.

Our personal inflation calculator, built by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), shows you what the inflation rate is for your household, and identifies the items in your household budget that have gone up the most in price over the last year.

You can try our personal inflation calculator here.

If you want to let us know what you find out about your own inflation, you can email us: haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk, external or WhatsApp +44 7756 165803, external

Image source, Getty Images

We know that food and soft drinks made the largest contribution to the rise in prices in July.

But within that category the biggest movements came from bread and cereals at 0.06 percentage points and milk, cheese and eggs at 0.05 percentage points, the ONS says.

Meanwhile vegetables, meat, sugar, jam, honey, syrup, chocolate and confectionary each contributed 0.04 percentage points to the change in the annual rate, the figures show.

Much of these food rises reflect the spike in the costs of raw ingredients such as wheat and grain earlier in the year, post invasion of Ukraine.

Some, especially grain, edible oils, have eased substantially since - but that typically will take around 6 months to impact shelf-edge prices

The ONS also says transport cost were another large contributing factor, with petrol, air fares and international rail tickets particularly increasing.

Pressure on cost of eating now - cost of heating laterpublished at 08:07 British Summer Time 17 August 2022

08:07 BST 17 August 2022

Kevin Peachey
Personal finance correspondent

You can’t fail to have noticed the rising price of groceries as you walk up and down the supermarket aisles this summer.

That is what has been driving inflation at a rate five times higher than the Bank of England's target.

It is also what will worry consumers and debt charities – that it is necessities, not luxuries, that are behind this increase.

That will continue. While it is the cost of eating now, the ongoing acceleration in the inflation rate will be down to the cost of heating – as domestic energy bills soar this winter.

Image source, Reuters

Former chancellor Sajid Javid says he is not shocked by the 10.1% inflation figure, which he adds is "incredibly high" and "hurting families" across the UK.

"I think it underlines the need to go forward with a credible economic plan that tackles inflation, of course, the cost of living challenges which are immense, but also long term plans for growth," he tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Javid outlines his support for Tory leadership hopeful Liz Truss, who is proposing an emergency budget, tax cuts and the suspension of green levies on energy bills as prime minister.

"She has also made it clear that nothing is off the table," he says, adding that by cutting taxes to increase growth, real incomes and pay for public services will be raised in the long term.

As the contest for No 10 continues, Truss's rival Rishi Sunak has said he wants to tackle inflation before cutting taxes.

Labour's Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves "we must get a grip" on rising inflation which is "leaving families worried sick about making ends meet".

“Labour's fully-costed plan to freeze the energy price cap will bring inflation down this winter easing the burden on households and businesses," she says.

“And it will mean that households won't pay a penny more for their energy bills this winter.

"People are worried sick and while the Tories are busy fighting and ignoring the scale of this crisis. Only Labour can give Britain the fresh start it needs."

The increase in the cost of living is putting pressure on people's finances, as wages fail to keep up with inflation.

The BBC's Hannah Miller took the bus around Birmingham to see how this is affecting people.

Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the ONS, says around half of the 10.1% rise is down to energy prices.

Energy prices were picking up even before Russia invaded Ukraine, he tells the BBC.

But now goods prices are up 2.7% and services 4.9%, he says, adding that this "is not simply an energy story".

"Cost pressures have spread through most parts of the economy," he says.

Increases in food prices are the most significant in the last month, Fitzner says, with bakery products, dairy, meat, vegetables and takeaways all picking up.

Overall, there was a 2.3% rise in food and drink rises - a "huge" number, he says.

For businesses, Fitzner says producer prices are close to "all-time record highs".

Prices of items leaving factory gate are up by 17% - the highest since 1977, he adds.

Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi says getting inflation under control is his "top priority".

"I understand that times are tough, and people are worried about increases in prices that countries around the world are facing," he says.

"Although there are no easy solutions, we are helping where we can through a £37bn support package, with further payments for those on the lowest incomes, pensioners and the disabled, and £400 off energy bills for everyone in the coming months."

Here's a chart showing the journey of inflation over the last 10 years.

The Bank of England predicts that it could go up to just over 13% by the end of the year because of the rise in energy prices.

Its target inflation rate is 2% and the Bank has been raising interest rates to try to get inflation down.

This increases the cost of borrowing and encourages people to borrow and spend less.

It also encourages people to save more.However, it is a tough balancing act as the Bank does not want to slow the economy too much.

Food prices may stay high for monthspublished at 07:23 British Summer Time 17 August 2022

07:23 BST 17 August 2022

Dharshini David
Global Trade Correspondent

It's prices set on international commodity markets that have largely driven energy and food prices up and caused inflation to soar.

While the former, thanks to angst in the gas market prompted by Russia’s action, will continue to spike for customers, there's hope that the rise in food prices could soon tail off.

The wholesale cost of staples such as wheat and oil have been easing, according to the UN, particularly as exports by sea from that key global producer Ukraine resume.

But those falls take around six months to impact supermarket shelves.

And add in the likes of meat, dairy and sugar, and the wholesale costs of key foodstuffs remain 13% higher than a year ago. There's also higher costs for transport and packaging to factor in. The price rises that have blighted grocery bills may slow - but a return to an era of cheaper food may be a way off.

Rising food and drink prices made the biggest contribution to the change in the inflation rate between June and July 2022, according to the ONS.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages saw an overall increase of 2.3% between June and July 2022, taking the division's annual inflation rate to 12.7% in July 2022, up from 9.8% in June.

This month's rise in prices follows three months of increases (of between 1.2% and 1.5%) and is the highest monthly increase since May 2001, when it was 2.8%.

The annual rate of inflation was last higher in August 2008, when inflation for food and non-alcoholic beverages was 13.2%.

The last time the Consumer Price Index - which measures price rises - was in double digits was in February 1982 when it reached 10.2%.

The latest inflation rate is higher than analysts were predicting.

UK inflation hits 10.1% in the year to July, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The figure is up from 9.4% in June.

We're expecting the latest inflation figures in the next few minutes.

Stick with us for the latest.

The inflation rate's measures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) - they are the ones providing the latest rate. We'll get their latest update in about 10 minutes.

To come up with an inflation figure, the ONS keeps track of the prices of hundreds of everyday items.

This is known as the "basket of goods". The basket is constantly updated.

Tinned beans and sports bras were added this year, reflecting a rising interest in plant-based diets and exercise.

Each month's inflation figure shows how much these prices have risen since the same date last year - this is known as the Consumer Prices Index.

Energy bills could increase ahead of the expected rise in October, the UK's energy regulator has said.

Ofgem and industry body Energy UK said it was "possible" for suppliers to raise customers' direct debits before the new cap on energy prices kicks in.

Any rises would be to help spread the cost of higher energy use in the winter months, Ofgem said.

Households have been warned of sharp rises in energy prices, with average bills forecast to reach £4,200 in 2023.

Read more here

Image source, Getty Images

It might seem a good idea for wages to go up so we can afford to pay higher prices.

But the Bank of England warns this could cause something called a wage price spiral.

It's when wages increase to meet rising prices, but this leads to prices rising even further and wages increasing to meet rising prices and… well, we're sure you get the idea by now.

You may be wondering why are prices rising so fast. Well, many things are contributing to the high rate of inflation, including:

• Energy bills, which have risen rapidly because of high oil and gas prices
• Petrol and diesel prices, partly because the war in Ukraine has driven up the cost of crude oil
• Food prices, as the war in Ukraine squeezed grain production and costs
• The costs of raw materials, household goods, furniture and restaurants and hotels has risen
• Higher interest rates make mortgage payments more expensive for some homeowners

Not all prices behave the same way. So, the cost of some things has grown a little or stayed the same, but for others it has rocketed upwards.