
15th January 2025
The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH) rose by 3.5% in the 12 months to December 2024, unchanged from November.
On a monthly basis, CPIH rose by 0.3% in December 2024, down from 0.4% in December 2023.
The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 2.5% in the 12 months to December 2024, down from 2.6% in the 12 months to November.
On a monthly basis, CPI rose by 0.3% in December 2024, down from 0.4% in December 2023.
The largest downward contribution to the monthly change in both CPIH and CPI annual rates came from restaurants and hotels; the largest upward contribution to both came from transport.
Core CPIH (excluding energy, food, alcohol, and tobacco) rose by 4.2% in the 12 months to December 2024, down from 4.4% in November; the CPIH goods annual rate rose from 0.4% to 0.7%, while the CPIH services annual rate fell from 5.7% to 5.4%.
Core CPI (excluding energy, food, alcohol, and tobacco) rose by 3.2% in the 12 months to December 2024, down from 3.5% in November; the CPI goods annual rate rose from 0.4% to 0.7%, while the CPI services annual rate fell from 5.0% to 4.4%.
The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH) rose by 3.5% in the 12 months to December 2024. This is unchanged from November and down from a recent peak of 9.6% in October 2022 (Figure 1).
On a monthly basis, CPIH rose by 0.3% in December 2024, down from 0.4% in December 2023.
The owner occupiers' housing costs (OOH) component of CPIH rose by 8.0% in the 12 months to December 2024, up from 7.8% in the 12 months to November. This is the highest annual rate since February 1992 in the constructed historical series. OOH costs rose by 0.6% on the month, compared with a 0.4% increase a year earlier.
The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 2.5% in the 12 months to December 2024. This is down from 2.6% in November, and well below its recent peak of 11.1% in October 2022.
On a monthly basis, CPI rose by 0.3% in December 2024, down from 0.4% in December 2023.
The main drivers of the annual inflation rate for CPIH and CPI are the same where they are common to both measures. However, the OOH component accounts for approximately 16% of the CPIH and is the main driver for differences between the CPIH and CPI inflation rates. This makes CPIH our most comprehensive measure of inflation. We cover this in more detail in Section 4: Latest movements in CPIH inflation and provide a commentary on the CPI in Section 5: Latest movements in CPI inflation. We also cover both CPIH and CPI in Section 3: Notable movements in prices, though the figures reflect CPIH.
Restaurants and hotels
The annual inflation rate for restaurants and hotels was 3.4% in December 2024. This is down from 4.0% in November and is the lowest annual rate since July 2021. On a monthly basis, prices fell by 0.1%, compared with a rise of 0.5% a year ago.
The easing in the annual rate mainly reflected a downward effect from hotels, where prices fell by 1.9% on the month, compared with a rise of 3.1% a year ago. Restaurants and cafes provided a smaller downward effect, where prices rose by 0.2% on the month. This is down from the 0.3% monthly rise a year ago.
Alcohol and Tobacco
Prices in the alcohol and tobacco division fell by 0.2% between November and December 2024, compared with a rise of 1.2% a year ago. On an annual basis, prices rose by 5.3% in the year to December 2024. This is down from a rise of 6.8% in the year to November.
The easing in the annual rate mainly reflected a downward effect from tobacco, where prices rose by 0.7% on the month, compared with a rise of 4.1% in December 2023. The rise in December 2023 was influenced by an increase in tobacco duty in November 2023. The rise in December 2024 was not as heavily influenced by an increase in tobacco duty in October 2024.
The easing in the divisional rate was offset slightly by an upward effect from alcoholic beverages, which fell by 1.1% on the month, compared with a fall of 1.6% a year ago. Prices of wine also fell by 1.1% on the month, compared with a fall of 1.6% a year ago, leading to a positive contribution to the change in the annual rate.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages
Food and non-alcoholic beverage prices rose by 2.0% in the year to December, unchanged from November 2024. The annual rate of 2.0% is down from a recent high of 19.2% in March 2023, which was the highest annual rate for over 45 years.
Prices for this division rose by 0.5% between November and December 2024, the same rate as a year ago. The annual rate of 2.0% in December 2024 compares with 8.0% in December 2023.
There were downward contributions to the change in the annual rate of inflation between November and December 2024 in 2 of the 11 food and non-alcoholic beverages classes. This is because prices were either unchanged or rose at a lower rate between November and December than the rate of growth between the same two months last year. These contributions came from:
bread and cereals
mineral waters, soft drinks, and juices
There were upward contributions to the change in the annual rate of inflation between November and December 2024 in 2 of the 11 food and non-alcoholic beverages classes. This is because prices rose this year but were either unchanged or fell between the same two months last year. These contributions came from:
fruit
sugar, jam, honey, syrups, chocolate, and confectionery
There was little change in the other seven classes.
Further details on the items that provided notable upward and downward contributions to the change in the annual rate can be found in our Consumer price inflation detailed briefing note.
Transport
Overall prices in the transport division fell by 0.6% in the year to December 2024, compared with a fall of 1.1% in the year to November (Figure 4). On a monthly basis, prices rose by 1.0% in December 2024, up from 0.6% a year ago.
The change in the annual rate was mainly the result of upward effects from motor fuels and secondhand cars, partially offset by a downward effect from air fares.
The average price of petrol rose by 1.4 pence per litre between November and December 2024 to stand at 136.2 pence per litre, down from 142.8 pence per litre in December 2023. Diesel prices rose by 2.0 pence per litre in December 2024 to stand at 142.5 pence per litre, down from 151.4 pence per litre in December 2023. These movements resulted in overall motor fuel prices falling by 5.0% in the year to December 2024, up from a fall of 10.9% in the year to November.
Prices of secondhand cars fell by 0.6% between November and December 2024, compared with a fall of 2.8% a year ago. On an annual basis, prices rose by 1.0% in the year to December 2024, compared with a fall of 1.3% in the year to November. The annual rate was negative for 16 consecutive months before the rise in December 2024.
Air fares rose by 16.2% on the month in December 2024, down from 57.1% a year ago. It is normal for fares to rise into December. However, the rise in December 2024 was the lowest December rise since December 2019, and it is the third-lowest December rise since monthly price collection began in 2001. Part of the reason for the lower-than-usual growth may be because the return date for the European flights in this month's index was Christmas Eve and the return date for long-haul flights was New Year's Eve.
Housing and household services
The annual inflation rate for housing and household services was 6.0% in December 2024, up from 5.8% in November. This compares with a recent peak of 11.8% observed in January and February 2023. On a monthly basis, prices rose by 0.4% in December 2024, compared with a rise of 0.3% a year ago.
The 0.2 percentage point increase in the annual rate between November and December 2024 reflected upward effects from owner occupiers' housing (OOH) costs and, to a lesser extent, liquid fuels. OOH costs rose by 8.0% in the year to December 2024, up from 7.8% in November. The latest figure is the highest since February 1992, when the rate was 8.6% in the constructed historical series.
Read the full ONS report with more links and graphs HERE