Over recent months, the cost of living crisis has dominated nearly every aspects of our lives. We've seen an increase in national insurance, council taxes, fuel prices and supermarket goods. In April, gas and electricity bills went up by a whopping £693, around 54%, and further increases are expected in October.
In March, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a raft of measures including a cut to fuel duty, changes to National Insurance thresholds and a promise on income tax. Although these changes were cautiously welcomed, some have argued that not enough measures have been taken to protect those that will be hardest hit by the cost of living crisis.
Many are and will be facing real-terms loss in income and growing financial burden. Here we take a look at all the prices that have and are set to make life difficult for all of us in the months to come.
Wages
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that real wages have fallen by 1%, meaning that people's pay has failed to keep up with inflation for a second month. In January, pay growth increased from 3.8% while prices rose by 5.5% in the same month, and inflation reached 6.2% in February. The ONS said that pay excluding bonuses fell by 1% in February, while pay including bonuses went up by 0.4%.
The cost of living crunch is set to intensify however, as the ONS data published on April 12 as it has not brought into account the increase in the energy price cap for April, the impact of supply chain disruption and soaring oil, and gas prices due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Fuel
Over the last few weeks, Welsh motorists have been feeling the pinch amid fuel price hikes. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has also helped push fuel costs to record levels.
The cost of filling a family car with petrol was a third higher in March than it was a year ago, while a diesel car costs 40% more, despite the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, introducing a 5p fuel duty cut. According to RAC's Fuel Watch data, pump prices rose more in March than in any previous month on record, despite the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announcing a 5p fuel duty cut in the Spring Statement.
As well as hitting a new record-high price of 167.3p on March 22, the average cost of a litre of unleaded petrol went up by a huge 11.62p to end the month at 163.28p per litre – the largest ever increase the RAC has recorded in a single month. The previous biggest monthly increase was in October 2021 when petrol prices rose by 7.43p a litre.
The average price of diesel rocketed by an astonishing 22.06p a litre, peaking at 179.9p on March 23 and ending the month at 177.29p. This increase is three times the size of that recorded in May 2008 - the previous worst month for diesel price rises, when the cost of a litre went up by 8.43p.
Documented on April 10, the latest average price for unleaded petrol in the UK is 162.44p per litre, super unleaded is at 173.28p per litre, and diesel is at 176.73p per litre, according to RAC's Fuel Watch data. A spokesperson for RAC, Simon Williams, has said that very little has been done to protect UK motorists from increasing fuel costs and he has warned that they are expected to go higher during this Easter holiday.
He said: "Sadly, this Easter – traditionally the biggest getaway time of the year on the roads – is shaping up to be the costliest on record for drivers and there’s very little they can do to escape the high cost of filling up. Seeking out the cheapest petrol stations and driving as efficiently as possible are the best ways of making every pound spent on fuel go as far as possible."
Food
According to finance website, NimbleFins, UK households spend 16% of their budgets on food and non-alcoholic drinks. From January 2021 to January 2022, food prices rose 4.5% while oils and fats saw the biggest increase with a whopping 15.9%, followed by fruit (+6.9%) and milk, cheese and eggs (+5.7%).
Research from market analysts Kantar revealed that the prices of groceries have risen at their fastest rates in over eight years in February 2022. With food price inflation hitting 4.3% in that month, the price of several items like milk, cheese and jam have increased.
Some common items like pasta have seen a price hike from 45p to 70p at supermarkets like Asda. Similarly, the price of jam has gone up by 30% from £2 to £2.60, while yoghurt now costs 15p more than the previous price of 70p.
Dairy products have also seen a hike with brie cheese costing £1.20, up by 28% from 94p and the price of milk up by 19% from 80p to 95p. While the price of several other items like avocados and savoury snacks like Doritos have also gone up, the cost of some other products like bacon, beer, and spirits have actually fallen.
Energy Bills
This month saw energy price cap increase for approximately 22 million customers. Those on default tariffs paying by direct debit saw an increase of £693 from £1,277 to £1,971 per year, with the difference due to rounding. Prepayment customers saw an increase of £708 from £1,309 to £2,017.
Due to the current events in Ukraine, energy analysts at Cornwall Insight has predicted that the rise in October could be around 32%. This would mean that the estimated price cap will go up to £2,600 in October for the average dual fuel bill, which is a predicted increase of more than £600 from the current cap of £1,971.
In other words, energy prices could double in one year, but the exact amount a household pays depends on their energy usage.
Netflix
On Tuesday, the popular American subscription streaming service, Netflix, confirmed a price hike for new and existing members in the UK and Ireland. In the UK, the basic and standard plans will both increase by £1 a month to £6.99 and £10.99 respectively, while the premium tier will go up by £2 to £15.99 from May 12, 2022.
You can read the story in full here.
Takeaway
With the Easter holiday upon us, many customers will be lining up outside chippies across Wales and the rest of the UK.
But the price of white fish such as cod and haddock has risen to record levels, as cooking oil prices, energy prices and the rate of VAT have increased. In some cases, a fish and chips meal could reach the £10 mark.
Andrew Crook, president of the National Federation of Fish Friers, told Good Morning Britain: "We're currently seeing the highest fish price we've ever seen, and that's post-pandemic inflation. A lot of oil comes from Ukraine, it's not really started to affect us yet, but people are buying the oil, so that's forcing the price up.
"My oil's gone up 25% last week, another 10% this week. And, of course, we've returned to 20% VAT, which is probably the straw that will break the camel's back."
Other food producers are also seeing changes in prices. Bakery chain Greggs has warned customers its prices could go up for a second time this year as it faces surging costs by up to 6-7%. McDonald's and Domino's are also set to increase their prices.
