MNI DATA BRIEF: Second-hand Cars, Fuel Combine To Lift UK CPI

Transport costs provided the biggest uplift to UK CPI, after prices of second-hand cars rose by 4.4% in June, accounting for 0.08 percentage points of the rise in CPI. Statisticians cited reports of aspiring car-owners turning to the second-hand market as semi-conductor shortages have cut supply of new cars, data published Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics showed.

However, price rises are much less acute in the U.S., where second-hand car and truck prices rose by 10.2% in June and by 45.2% over June 2020, compared to a 5.6% annual rise in the UK. However, a used-car retail price index compiled by Auto Trader showed a much-higher 11.1% jump, the biggest increase in their series. Motoring fuel rose by an annual rate of 20.2% in June, the biggest rise since May of 2021, adding 0.06 percentage points to the increase in CPI. Petrol prices averaged 129.6 pence per litre in June, the highest since October of 2018, although prices in June of 2020 were probing four-year lows. RPI also soared, rising to 3.9% from 3.3% in May, while RPIX increased to 3.9% from 3.4%, both the fastest pace since January of 2018.