18.02.202607:19:43UTC+00UK Producer Inflation Lowest in 7 Months

Factory gate prices for UK-manufactured goods rose 2.5% year-on-year in January 2026, slowing from a downwardly revised 3.1% increase in December and marking the lowest rate since late June. The moderation was largely driven by weaker energy-related price pressures. In particular, prices for coke and refined petroleum products fell 8.4% over the year, a sharper decline than the 1.7% drop recorded in December, and these products provided the largest downward contribution to the overall rate.

At the same time, inflation eased for food products, slowing to 3.4% from 4.1%, partly due to lower price growth for processed and preserved meat, and for motor vehicles and other transport equipment, where inflation cooled to 5.5% from 6.4%. Despite this deceleration, both categories remained the biggest upward contributors to factory gate inflation.

By contrast, inflation strengthened in several other categories. Price growth picked up for alcoholic beverages and tobacco (to 1.6% from 0.8%), basic metals and machinery (to 3.6% from 3.5%), and computer, electronic, and electrical products (to 1.6% from 1.2%). On a monthly basis, producer output prices were flat in January, following a 0.1% decline in December.