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UK food prices and overall inflation: what the figures to September 2026 show

Food price inflation in the UK held at 1.3% in September 2026, while consumer price inflation reached 3.5%; both are 12-month changes from separate measures.

Published 2 min read

  • 2026-061.7%
  • 2026-071.3%
  • 2026-081.3%
  • 2026-091.3%
United Kingdom food price inflation (12-month change) · Office for National Statistics (UK)

UK Food price inflation →

The short version for households

For an ordinary household, the latest figures point two ways. Food prices were 1.3% higher in September 2026 than a year earlier. Prices across the whole consumer basket were 3.5% higher over the same 12 months.

Sources for this paragraph (2)

These are two separate official series. One tracks food only. The other covers the full range of goods and services that households buy. They answer different questions, so this analysis looks at each one on its own terms.

Sources for this paragraph (2)

What the official figures show

Every figure in this section is a 12-month change, comparing prices in one month with prices in the same month a year before. None of them is a change from the previous month.

Sources for this paragraph (8)

Food price inflation was 1.7% in June 2026. It was 1.3% in July, 1.3% in August and 1.3% in September.

Sources for this paragraph (4)

Consumer price inflation was 2.6% in June 2026, 2.9% in July, 3.1% in August and 3.5% in September.

Sources for this paragraph (4)

A third measure, CPIH, also counts the housing costs of people who own their homes. It stood at 3.6% over the 12 months to September 2026. CPIH is defined differently from consumer price inflation, so the two should not be treated as the same figure.

Sources for this paragraph (1)

How each measure has moved since June

Food price inflation fell between June and July, from 1.7% to 1.3%. It then stayed at 1.3% in August and September. So food prices are still rising year on year, but at a lower annual rate than in June.

Sources for this paragraph (4)

Consumer price inflation moved the other way. Its annual rate was higher in each month from June to September, going from 2.6% to 3.5%.

Sources for this paragraph (4)

The figures show the direction of each series. They do not show which goods or services account for the movement in the overall measure.

Sources for this paragraph (2)

What it means for people living in the UK

At the till, the food series suggests the annual pace of price rises has been steady since July, at 1.3%. That is a slower annual rate than the 1.7% recorded in June.

Sources for this paragraph (3)

Across the wider household budget, the annual rate of price rises has climbed each month since June, reaching 3.5% in September.

Sources for this paragraph (2)

Average weekly earnings grew by 3.7% over 12 months, measured as a 3-month average to August 2026. This uses a different period and method from the price measures, so it does not tell any single household whether its pay is keeping up with its own costs.

Sources for this paragraph (1)

The Bank of England's policy rate stood at 3.75% at the end of September 2026. The unemployment rate was 4.7% in July 2026, seasonally adjusted.

Sources for this paragraph (2)

What the data does not tell us

The facts here do not explain why food price inflation eased or why overall inflation rose. They also do not break the overall measure down by category.

Sources for this paragraph (2)

The figures are national averages. They do not show how prices changed for different types of household, or how much of a typical budget goes on food.

Sources for this paragraph (2)

The latest month covered is September 2026. The data cannot say what happened in October.

Sources for this paragraph (3)

Scenarios to watch

  • Scenario, not a forecast If food price inflation stays at 1.3% in the coming months, the food series would show a fourth month in a row at that rate.
  • Scenario, not a forecast If the overall consumer price measure keeps rising, the run of higher annual rates since June would continue; if it eases, the September reading would mark a high point for this period.
  • Scenario, not a forecast If earnings growth slows while price growth stays firm, households would feel more pressure on their budgets; if earnings growth holds up, that pressure would be smaller. The current figures cannot say which will happen.

What to check next

  • The next monthly release of UK food price inflation, to see whether it stays at 1.3%
  • The next consumer price inflation and CPIH figures, for October 2026
  • The next average weekly earnings release, which covers a later 3-month period
  • The Bank of England's next policy rate decision
  • The next seasonally adjusted unemployment rate

Verified data used in this report

IndicatorValuePeriodSourcesAccessed
F1United Kingdom food price inflation (12-month change)1.7%2026-06Office for National Statistics (UK)
F2United Kingdom food price inflation (12-month change)1.3%2026-07Office for National Statistics (UK)
F3United Kingdom food price inflation (12-month change)1.3%2026-08Office for National Statistics (UK)
F4United Kingdom food price inflation (12-month change)1.3%2026-09Office for National Statistics (UK)
F5United Kingdom consumer price inflation (12-month change)2.6%2026-06Office for National Statistics (UK)
F6United Kingdom consumer price inflation (12-month change)2.9%2026-07Office for National Statistics (UK)
F7United Kingdom consumer price inflation (12-month change)3.1%2026-08Office for National Statistics (UK)
F8United Kingdom consumer price inflation (12-month change)3.5%2026-09Office for National Statistics (UK)
C23United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %)1.39%2025World Bank
C24United Kingdom Unemployment, total (% of labour force, ILO modelled estimate)4.75%2025World Bank
C25United Kingdom Fertility rate, total (births per woman)1.552024World Bank
C26United Kingdom Population aged 65 and above (% of total population)19.7%2025World Bank
C27United Kingdom Population growth (annual %)0.3%2025World Bank
C28United Kingdom central bank policy rate (month-end)3.75%2026-09Bank of England
C30United Kingdom CPIH inflation, including owner occupiers' housing costs (12-month change)3.6%2026-09Office for National Statistics (UK)
C32United Kingdom unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted)4.7%2026-07Office for National Statistics (UK)
C33United Kingdom average weekly earnings growth (3-month average, 12-month change)3.7%2026-08Office for National Statistics (UK)

Sources

  • Source: Office for National Statistics, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 — license
  • Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0) — license
  • Source: Bank of England, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 — license

How this report was checked

  • Data: the newest reference period cited is 2026-09.
  • Figures were collected from the source on
  • Written by an AI model (claude-opus-5-5) using only the official figures listed in this report.
  • Automatic checks passed: every number matches a cited figure, every paragraph names its evidence, and there is no investment advice or copied source text.
  • A separate quality-check model raised concerns, and the report was rewritten once to address them.
  • No person reviewed this report before publication. Automatic checks confirm the numbers, not every interpretation.
Update history
  • 2026-10-29 11:01 UTC — created
  • 2026-10-29 11:01 UTC — approved+published

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