UK Services Producer Prices Rise 4.3 Per Cent in Year to June 2026

The Office for National Statistics reports that services producer price inflation accelerated sharply between the first and second quarters of 2026, rising from a revised 3.2 per cent to 4.3 per cent year-on-year.

Services producer prices rose by 4.3 per cent in the year to Quarter 2 (April to June) 2026, the Office for National Statistics announced this week — up from a revised 3.2 per cent in the year to Quarter 1. On a quarterly basis alone, the figures show prices climbed 1.8 per cent between April and June, compared with just 0.8 per cent in the previous quarter before revision.

That acceleration — more than a full percentage point in annual terms within a single quarter — suggests cost pressures across UK service industries are building rather than easing. The ONS measures these prices through its Services Producer Price Index, which tracks what businesses and public sector bodies pay for services from other UK providers, covering everything from professional and technical work to transport and business support.

For Kent, direct. Kent County Council and district councils spend heavily on contracted services — social care, waste management, transport — and higher services producer prices feed straight into procurement costs. The county’s logistics and tourism sectors face rising charges for warehousing, haulage, and business services that may ultimately land with local consumers.

Small and medium-sized enterprises are especially exposed. They tend to have less bargaining power when renegotiating service contracts, and tighter margins may force a choice between absorbing costs or passing them on.

The Bank of England watches services price data closely, as services inflation tends to be stickier than goods inflation and carries more weight in driving overall Consumer Prices Index figures. CPI inflation stood at 3.3 per cent year-on-year in March 2026, with services inflation running above that rate — so the Q2 SPPI reading is unlikely to ease pressure on monetary policy. Whether the acceleration continues into the second half of 2026 is not yet clear from the data available.