Fall in Ofgem price cap brings overall inflation costs down
AN easing in the energy price cap has helped to bring down overall inflation numbers, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Covering the 12 months to the end of April 2026, the overall consumer price index figure including housing costs (CPIH) stood at 3%, down from March’s figure of 3.4%.
The easing in the 12-month CPIH figure has been put down to a fall in the prices of electricity, says the ONS, where prices fell by 8.4% by the end of April – compared to the same time period in 2025 when they rose by 2.9%.
This fall in prices has come from changes to the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) energy price cap. Ofgem estimated that for an average household paying by direct debit for dual fuel, this would equate to an annual bill of £1,641, which is a fall of £117.
Ofgem made the decision to reduce the energy price cap based of an assessment period which ran between 15 November to 13 February, which was before the outbreak of the US-Israeli conflict in Iran.
The price cap also fell following the implementation of the UK Government’s April energy bill announcement which stated it would take an average of £150 off the costs of energy bills.
There was more good news to be found across the food and non-alcoholic beverage category as well which also saw a month-to-month decline. According to the ONS, food and non-alc beverages prices rose by 3% during the 12 months to the end of April, down from the 3.7% figure that was seen in March.
This has come from downward effect across five of the 11 food and non-alc beverages groups including: meat, down 0.03%; sugar, jam, honey, syrups, chocolate and confectionery, down 0.03%; oils and fats, down 0.01%; coffee, tea and cocoa, down 0.01%; and mineral waters, soft drinks and juices, down by 0.01%.
Despite the good news to be found elsewhere, transport costs still continued to show a bleak picture at the pumps.
The average price of petrol rose by 16.6 pence per litre (ppl) between March and the end of April 2026, compared to the 3ppl increase that was seen in 2025. This mean that the average price of petrol stood at 156.8ppl in April marking the highest price seen since November 2022 when it stood at 163.2ppl due to the war in Ukraine.
Similarly, diesel prices rose by 31.3ppl in April, compared to the 3.1ppl decline that was seen during the same time period in 2025. The average price stood at 190.0ppl in April 2026, the highest figure recorded since July 2022 when it was 197.9ppl.
