According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), in June, £1,529,922 billion was spent by consumers on furniture and lighting. The amount spent is the highest ever recorded in that month and the ONS figures span 36 years.  This represents a recovery from May, with monthly values up by 4.2% on June last year and 22.5% up on May 2022, which saw a decline on an annual basis of 8.9%.

However, the higher value is a little deceiving as it is a reflection too of the rising retail price of household furniture. This was 16.6% higher in the month of June compared to that month last year, only surpassed by the record high of 17.2% in March this year.

Input costs in the production of furniture again were recorded as rising by around 21% in the month of June, the eleventh month that the cost of materials and fuel has been at or above 20%.

Factory gate prices continue to rise in an attempt to offset rising costs, with prices 9.8% higher than June 2021, up from 9.5% recorded in May.

The 3 measures of consumer inflation

The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 9.4% in the 12 months to June 2022, up from 9.1%  in May.

The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH) rose by 8.2% in the 12 months to June 2022, up from 7.9% in May.

The Retail Price index (RPI) rose by 11.8% up from 11.7% in May 2022..

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