ONS Household Costs Indices show how 12-month cost growth varies across UK household groups

The Office for National Statistics has released Household Costs Indices for UK household groups, covering April to June 2026. The publication provides estimates of 12-month growth rates for household costs, alongside expenditure shares and contributions, and breaks results out by different household groups as well as for all households.

The key economic idea is that “inflation” is not experienced uniformly. By showing both the rate of cost growth and how much each spending category contributes (via expenditure shares and contributions), the release helps readers understand which parts of household budgets are driving pressure and whether the burden is concentrated in particular demographic or spending profiles.

For FX analysis, this is useful mainly as a window into the transmission mechanism from prices to real household purchasing power. When cost growth is rising faster for households with higher effective exposure to particular items, it can weigh more heavily on consumer demand and affect how quickly the inflation impulse reaches consumption.

What to watch next in this series is how the 12-month growth rates evolve across household groups over subsequent quarters, and whether the contribution structure shifts as categories’ cost growth changes. Those changes can offer context for interpreting broader inflation and demand data ahead of central-bank decisions.