LONDON, March 16 (Reuters) – Prices of alcohol-free beer and houmous will go into calculations of British inflation as shoppers prioritise healthier habits, the Office for National Statistics said on Monday.
The consumer prices index is based on the cost of more than 750 goods and services, some of which are changed each year, reflecting changing lifestyles as well as shifts in the use of technology.
“This year, healthier lifestyle choices influence consumer spending, reflected by goods such as houmous and non-alcoholic beer,” Stephen Burgess, ONS deputy director for prices, said.
Other additions to the basket include motor homes, dashboard cameras, pay-TV subscriptions and pet-grooming services.
Leaving the index this year are sheets of wrapping paper – to be replaced by more popular rolls of wrapping paper – while prices for hotels will be measured in a different way to reduce volatility, the ONS said.
The statistics agency will also introduce data collection from supermarket scanners for over half of the grocery market. The change means “thousands of manually collected price points will be replaced by millions of prices collected automatically” from supermarket checkouts, the ONS said.
Britain’s inflation rate fell to a near one-year low of 3.0% in January but the surge in energy prices caused by the conflict in the Middle East has raised concerns about a fresh increase.
(Reporting by Suban AbdullaEditing by William Schomberg)
