Yesterday we had wage stats, today it's inflation stats. And the big news is inflation is at 2.5 per cent, the lowest in a year.
What it means:is a calculation of how fast prices are rising. According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the rate is down from 2.7 per cent last month to 2.5 this month. Specifically women's clothing and shoes, and alcohol, aren't going up in price as fast as they were previously – both of those things are contributing to the drop in the inflation rate.
This is good news for our pockets: yesterday we found out that the average wage across the UK had risen 2.8 per cent, and when the inflation rate is lower than the rate wages are rising, that's nice for us because we can buy more for our money – what's called a boost to 'real wages'.
There are a lot of theories about why the inflation rate was so high in the first place – the main being that when the value of the pound fell after the Brexit vote (you can read more about that here if you're interested) it became more expensive for shops, manufacturers, etc to buy stuff from abroad and sell it in the UK, so they passed that burden onto you and me (the 'consumer') by increasing prices. So a fall in 'inflation' means the 'Brexit effect' could finally be waning. Then again, it's only actually been a month of lower rates, so who really knows
…and who’s getting the bill for all this? Money is such a core part of the economy, and a lot of economic power lies in the hands of those who print it, earn it, and spend it. But money’s not just as a tool for exchange; it’s taken on a value in itself, and there’s a whole economy around money alone…
