Filling a 55-litre tank with petrol cost £4.51 more in September than in August, while food price rises held at their lowest rate since 2021
Inflation rose to 3.5% in the 12 months to September, its highest rate since October 2025, as petrol and diesel prices climbed to levels last seen in 2022, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) was up from 3.1% in August. Prices rose by 0.4% in the month alone, against little change in September last year. The CPI is the measure the Bank of England uses for its 2% inflation target.
The broader Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH), which the ONS treats as its most comprehensive measure, rose to 3.6% from 3.3%.
Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the ONS, says: “Inflation climbed notably in September to its highest annual rate in almost a year. Increased fuel prices were again the main driver, with the cost of diesel the highest since July 2022.
“Other upward pressures included airfares, and, to a lesser extent, computer games and live events, which are often volatile.”
Fuel prices at their highest since 2022
The average price of petrol rose by 8.2p a litre between August and September to 169.5p, the highest since August 2022. Diesel rose by 10.7p a litre to 192.5p, the highest since July 2022. Over the year, motor fuel prices were up 29.8%.
For a driver filling a 55-litre tank, that monthly rise adds £4.51 to the cost of a tank of petrol, which now comes to £93.23. A tank of diesel costs £5.89 more than in August, at £105.88.
Households that heat their homes with oil were also hit. Kerosene prices rose by 22.7% over the year, compared with a fall of 1.4% in the year to September 2025.
Elsewhere, computer game downloads rose in price by 40% over the month, against 16.1% a year earlier, and live music prices rose by 0.9% after falling 8.6% last year.
Hotels pulled the other way, with prices rising by 2.3% over the month against 3.8% a year earlier.
Mr Fitzner adds: “These were partially offset by the cost of hotel stays, where prices rose by less than this time last year.
“The annual cost of both raw materials and goods leaving factories continued to rise, driven by higher crude oil and petrol prices, respectively.”
Food inflation holds at lowest rate since 2021
Food and non-alcoholic drink prices rose by 1.3% over the year, unchanged from August. The rate was last lower in September 2021, when it stood at 0.8%.
That may not last. The ONS notes that organisations such as the Food and Drink Federation expect food inflation to arrive later and persist for longer, because squeezed household budgets and resistance from retailers have so far limited manufacturers’ ability to pass on higher costs.
UK inflation is running above that of its neighbours. France recorded a rate of 3.4% in September and Germany 3.3%.
Prices are now rising faster than private sector pay
The figures follow ONS data published on 20 October, which showed regular pay in the private sector growing by 3% a year in June to August. With prices now rising by 3.5%, a private sector worker on £35,000 who received a 3% rise this year is £175 a year worse off in real terms.
Savers face the same arithmetic. Money held in an account paying less than 3.5% interest is losing value in real terms, so anyone with cash in a low-rate account should compare it with the best-buy tables.
A regulated financial planner can review your whole position, from pension contributions and salary sacrifice to the tax you pay on a rise and work out how to make your earnings go further while prices rise faster than pay.
If your pay has fallen behind inflation, a planner can also help you decide whether paying down debt, building savings or adding to your pension should come first. Get in touch to talk through your pay, your pension or any other part of your finances.
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