- By Clodagh Rice
- BBC News NI business correspondent
Households and businesses in Northern Ireland are still feeling the pressure of rising costs as the rate of inflation unexpectedly rose last month.
After three consecutive months of slowing, the cost of living rose to 10.4% in the year to February from 10.1% in January, the new figures showed.
Inflation is the measure of the increase in the price of something over time.
David Turner, who owns a framing business in south Belfast, has had to raise his prices by up to 10%.
He cited 14 separate supplier cost increases last year, which forced him to raise the cost of his own services.
The cost of the wood used in the frames, glass made in a gas-powered furnace, mount cards and backing boards – everything needed to make a picture frame – has increased, he said.
David Turner says he has to pass the extra cost on to his customers
“So when all the prices go up we feel it, our margins are shrinking so we have to raise our prices as well,” Mr Turner said.
“We have to pass it or we wouldn’t be here.”
Inflation rose to 11.1% in October and has fallen slightly in recent months but Mr Turner said the decline had not yet filtered through.
“Talking to other small businesses, prices always go up quickly but come down very slowly,” he said.
“Hopefully there’s something on the horizon that prices will go down a little bit but usually not.
“Usually when they go up they stay.”
What does inflation mean?
Inflation is the increase in the price of something over time.
If a bottle of milk costs £1 but £1.05 a year later, then annual milk inflation is 5%.
To produce an inflation figure, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) tracks the prices of hundreds of everyday items in an imaginary “basket of goods”.
The basket is regularly updated. Tinned beans and sports bras were added last year.
Each month’s inflation figure shows how much prices have risen since the same date last year.
You can calculate inflation in different ways but the main measure is the Consumer Prices Index (CPI).
