According to the report from Office for National Statistics, the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) 12-month rate was 0.3% in November 2020, down from 0.7% in October. Economists had expected a 0.6% increase.

The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) 12-month inflation rate was 0.6% in November 2020, down from 0.9% in October 2020.

The largest contribution to the CPIH 12-month inflation rate in November 2020 came from recreation and culture (0.24 percentage points).

Falling prices for clothing, and food and non-alcoholic beverages resulted in the largest downward contributions (of 0.17 and 0.09 percentage points respectively) to the change in the CPIH 12-month inflation rate between October and November 2020.

These were partially offset by upward contributions from games, toys and hobbies, and accommodation services.

As a result of the increased restrictions caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 72 CPIH items were identified as unavailable in November, accounting for 13.9% of the basket by weight; the number has increased from eight in October but is down from 90 in April, the first full month of lockdown; for November, we collected a weighted total of 83.8% of comparable coverage collected before the first lockdown (excluding unavailable items).