Inflation is up. But don’t panic, it’s nothing to do with Brexit

Inflation is up: between May and June it jumped from 0.3 per cent to 0.5 per cent. But before the doomsayers blame Brexit, it’s worth remembering that these latest Consumer Price Index figures are nothing to do with the EU referendum.

Instead, the numbers behind today’s inflation rise were collected in the middle of June, before the Brexit vote took place. So what’s going on? The short answer is that there’s nothing to panic about. The rise was almost wholly brought about by a leap in the cost of air fares – particularly those to European countries. Here’s what the ONS, who released the numbers, said:

‘The 10.9 per cent rise in fares this year was the largest May to June movement on record although it is important to note that air fares are highly variable.’

Another factor behind the jump was a hike in the cost of things like games, toys and what the ONS call ‘recreation and culture’.