Island inflation at 4.7%

Island inflation at 4.7%

The cost of building work has helped increase inflation

Inflation in Guernsey is at its highest for the present quarter in 10 years.

It now stands at 4.7%, up from 4.4% the previous quarter.

The last time the figures were that high at any time of the year was in December 1997.

The main contributors to inflation in the last year have been increases to the Retail Prices Index (RPI) in housing, leisure services and motoring.

Leisure services

Housing has been the major reason for the rise, making up 1.7% of the rise.

This is because of rises in the cost of building work, major house improvements and maintenance.

Leisure services have also had a large impact because of holiday prices and satellite subscriptions.

Meanwhile, motoring has pushed inflation up by 0.7% because of a rise in the price of vehicle insurance and the cost of repairs and servicing.

The Policy and Research Unit said: "The RPI, while not applying precisely to any one household or person, will be close to the experience of inflation for the great majority of households."