A sample of rhe goods and services that affect the consumer most.
- 4.6%
Furniture:The cost of furnishing a home continues to slide. For example, carpets cost 5.5 per cent less than last year. Once-crowded DIY and furniture outlets have thinned as the housing boom has imploded, and they now trade in an environment where consumers' willingness to buy big-ticket items is waning. The result: big discounts.
+ 9.3%
Petrol:Crude oil prices reached record high prices of $122 a barrel this week, which could put pressure on prices at the pump in the months ahead. Petrol is up 9 per cent, diesel costs 16 per cent more and home heating oil prices have already rocketed 31 per cent, even though the latest super-spike in oil prices has yet to show up in the inflation figures.
+ 15.5%
Mortgages:Rising interest payments on mortgages have been the main driver of inflation in recent years, but the rate is set to ease as the European Central Bank rate rises in the first half of 2007 fall out of the annual period. Mortgage costs are still going up, however, and rose 0.5 per cent in April as lenders passed on the cost of the credit crunch to borrowers.
- 2.8%
Clothing and footwear:This has been one of the main categories of consumption to show consistently deflating prices. The slashed prices could be a sign of economic slowdown, as retailers offer heavy discounts to entice cautious consumers to do more than just window shop. The strong euro may also be making price tags more modest.
+ 6.2%
Health:Basic healthcare costs are shooting up ahead of overall inflation rates, largely because of a 10 per cent annual increase in hospital charges. Doctors' fees are 9 per cent higher, dental services are up 5 per cent and health insurance policies are 8.5 per cent more expensive than a year ago. Even so-called alternative medicine costs more.
+ 8.1%
Food:Shoppers are paying more for food than they were a year ago because global food shortages have sent commodity prices soaring. Prices were flat in April, but the price of milk is still 30 per cent higher than a year ago, and bread costs 17 per cent more. Food inflation has a disproportionate impact on low-income households.
