6% inflation surges to 16yr high; CREDIT CRUNCH CRISIS.Byline: By IAN GRAHAM Ian Graham (born January 5, 1943) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Collingwood in the VFL during the 1960's. His best season came in 1964 when he won the Copeland Trophy for Collingwood's Best and Fairest player. HOUSEHOLDS in Northern Ireland Northern Ireland: see Ireland, Northern. Northern Ireland Part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland occupying the northeastern portion of the island of Ireland. Area: 5,461 sq mi (14,144 sq km). Population (2001): 1,685,267. could be facing an inflation rate well ahead of the rest of the UK, it was claimed last night. Business advisors Price water house-Coopers said while the rest of Britain hits a 16-year high of 4.7 per cent, inflation here could rise to close to six per cent. Although separate estimates for Northern Ireland are not available, PwC said: "The region's high energy costs and lower than average private sector earnings may mean some households here face CPI (1) (Characters Per Inch) The measurement of the density of characters per inch on tape or paper. A printer's CPI button switches character pitch. (2) (Counts Per I rates of close to six per cent - twice the rate of two years ago." Philip McDonagh Philip McDonagh is an Irish footballer currently playing for Bohemians in the League of Ireland. Career McDonagh appears mostly for the Bohs Under-21 team but made some appearances for the first team during the 2006 season. , chief economist with PwC in Northern Ireland, added: "As food and energy prices have risen sharply, it is the poorest households who have faced the highest inflation rate. "And with a quarter of a million Northern Ireland homes suffering from fuel poverty, this steady increase in inflation will put greater pressures on families already facing rising food and living costs." Claiming recent falls in petrol prices had been of marginal benefit to the poorest households, he added: "Only when lower oil prices feed through to domestic gas and electricity bills will the full benefits be felt by the poorest in society." There was yet more grim news for hardpressed households with figures showing food inflation now running at 14.5 per cent - the steepest rate in 20 years. The soaring cost of groceries has added pounds 1,000 a year to the typical family's bill. Statistics for August show potatoes are up a staggering 57 per cent in just 12 months, bread 46 per cent and butter 41 per cent. Experts fear worse is to come as the numbers do not yet take into account August's wet weather that hit harvests sending prices rising even further. A year ago food bills were going up by just 2.8 per cent. Tim Newhouse of price comparison website moneysupermarket.com said: "The official inflation figure is at last catching up to the stark reality that people have been aware of for months." CAPTION(S): A RATE STATE Bank chief's letter |
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