22nd Apr 2026 07:25
(Alliance News) - Headline UK inflation rose to 3.3% in the year to March, as the war in Iran hit fuel costs, according to figures published on Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics.
The consumer prices index including owner occupiers' housing costs, or CPIH, rose by 3.4% in the 12 months to March, up from 3.2% in February.
On a month-on-month basis, CPIH rose by 0.6% in March, compared with a rise of 0.3% in the same month last year.
Headline consumer prices index inflation also accelerated. CPI rose by 3.3% year-on-year in March, up from 3.0% in February. The figure was inline with the FXStreet-cited consensus.
Monthly CPI rose by 0.7% in March, compared with a 0.3% rise a year earlier. This came in ahead of the 0.6% consensus expectation.
The ONS said motor fuels made the largest upward contribution to the monthly change. Clothing made the largest downward contribution.
The ONS said the average price of petrol rose by 8.6 pence per litre between February and March, compared with a 1.6p per litre fall a year earlier. Diesel prices rose by 17.6p per litre, compared with a 1.6p per litre fall in March 2025.
Overall motor fuel prices jumped by 4.9% in the 12 months to March, compared with a 4.6% fall in February. The March figure was the highest recorded since January 2023.
Core CPIH, which is CPIH excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, rose by 3.3% in the 12 months to March, down from 3.4% the previous month.
Within this, goods inflation rose to 2.1% from 1.6% while the services annual rate rose to 4.3% from 4.2%.
Core CPI rose by 3.1% in the 12 months to March, down from 3.2% in February.
The CPI goods annual rate rose to 2.1% from 1.6% while the CPI services annual rate increased to 4.5% from 4.3%.
A separate ONS release showed producer input prices rose by 5.4% in the year to March, sharply up from a revised 0.7% in the year to February. On a monthly basis, producer input prices rose by 4.4%.
Producer output prices, which measure factory gate inflation, rose by 2.6% in the year to March, up from a revised rise of 1.8% in February. Producer output prices were 0.9% higher on-month.
The import price index rose by 4.2% in the year to March, up from a revised rise of 0.6% in the year to February.
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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