Britain’s inflation rate picked up to 0.7 per cent in October, boosted by rises in the prices of clothing, footwear and food as coronavirus restrictions tightened across the UK.
The higher-than-expected rise in the annual inflation rate, which tracks the price of goods and services, came after an increase of 0.5 per cent in September, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
"The rate of inflation increased slightly as clothing prices grew, returning to their normal seasonal pattern after the disruption this year," said ONS deputy national statistician for economic statistics Jonathan Athow.
“The cost of food also nudged up, while second-hand cars and computer games also all saw price rises.”
The latest figures show that inflation is "well past its crisis low point" of 0.2 per cent seen in August, said Paul Dales, chief UK economist at Capital Economics. This came after UK finance minister Rishi Sunak's 'Eat Out to Help Out' discount dining scheme helped to push the country's inflation rate to its lowest level since December 2015.
While shops and businesses reopened over the summer and early autumn, the country has now been plunged into its second lockdown to help contain a second surge in Covid-19 cases, which will have a downward effect on next month's inflation rate.
“Unfortunately the Christmas shopping season has been put on hold with the second lockdown and regional restrictions in full swing, with concerns of sustained restrictions once the English lockdown ends at the start of December,” said Richard Pearson, director at investment platform EQi.
"Retailers and restaurants have been forced to close up shop in what should be their busiest period in order to help stem the tide of Covid cases. Although online retailers will flourish during this period, as they did with the first lockdown, we will undoubtedly see a blow to next month’s figures.”
The bulk of October’s rise was due to increases in clothing and food inflation, as the effects of the pandemic also continued to push up second-hand car and hairdressing prices.
While clothing and footwear traditionally make a downward contribution to the headline inflation rate, as they follow clear seasonal patterns with falls in June and July when items are placed on sale, the reverse has been recorded this year. There was increased discounting in March and April in response to the lockdown, while prices in October rose from a year earlier.
People shopping for home decorations, such as furniture, furnishing and carpets, also contributed to October's inflation rate rise, with the contribution from these three groups totalling 0.16 percentage point.
While food prices rose in October, unlike last year, with people stocking up on potatoes and fruit, some surveys of consumers had pointed to renewed stockpiling as health restrictions spread through Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in October. A one-month lockdown was announced for England at the end of the month and started on November 5.
“Food inflation may continue to rise in November as demand in the supermarkets increases further during the Covid-19 lockdown. But it is hard to see how clothing inflation can continue to climb under such conditions. And the previous jump in inflation of IT equipment, which was due to supply shortages, has started to reverse,” Mr Dales said.
There were also pockets of disinflation he said, with recreation and culture inflation dropping back from 2.4 per cent to 2 per cent.
“Both total and core inflation will start to rise more sharply from April when the temporary VAT cut for the hospitality sector is reversed and the downward drag from the previous plunge in fuel prices drops out of the annual comparison,” Mr Dales said.
“But we suspect that the weak economy will prevent a sustained period where inflation is above the 2 per cent target, unless there is a no-deal Brexit.”
SUZUME
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The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away
It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
* Agence France Presse
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Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
The%20specs
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
