Under the high inflation, the British people have carefully calculated the life -see the second of the European economy

Xinhua News Agency, London, August 18th. Communication: Under inflation, the British people have taken a closer look -seeing the second European economy

Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhao Xiuzhi Yang Hairuo

Carefully compare the family water and electricity bills, check the bank accounts of various banks, and find a project that can save expenses ... As a mother -in -the -way mother with four children, Lisa O'Neal has to prepare for the increasing inflation of the UK.

According to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the British Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 10.1%year -on -year, the highest record since 1982. The United Kingdom has also become the first country of the Seven -way Group, the first CPI increase in the global inflation in this round of global inflation.

"We stop buying private endowment insurance and use this money to pay the home bill. Before we would pick a large shop for one -stop shopping, but now we will shop separately, and you will compare the price in various small stores to find the most cost -effective goods ..." Living in the place where we live in O'Neal in the suburbs of Liverpool counts her money to save money by reporters from Xinhua News Agency.

O'Neal said that how to deal with prices soaring has become a topic of chatting with colleagues when she is working. They are also paying attention to their respective income and expenditure situations to maximize "open source and throttling".

Software engineer Michael Alex is also a member of the current "consumer downgrade" army. Although he is one of the highest income in Britain, he has just been working for a few years and his life is far from rich. Even if he was "forced" to live in the surrounding town by high prices and rent in London, he still had to pay for rent with nearly one -third of his income.

Alex introduced that almost all restaurants and supermarket food prices are rising. He can only reduce the number of meals out, let alone "drink a drink" with friends after get off work. If there is any dinner you make, you will bring to the company for lunch the next day; every time you cheer for the car, you must ask the cheapest gas station nearby.

There are not a few British people like O'Neal and Alex. Market research agency Nielsen IQ company British retail director Mike Waterkins said that consumers are more cautious than ever when shopping, and more consumers have begun to choose to eat at home.

In addition, July and August each year is the traditional European vacation season, but a recent survey results released by the British "Sun" show that about 10%of British interviewees have canceled domestic travel plans due to high oil prices, and about 7%of them are suffered by about 7%. Visitors cancel their relatives due to increased living costs.

In fact, since last winter, Britain's inflation rate has risen all the way, and has repeatedly broke the record in recent months. The Bank of England's Bank of England predicts that the CPI will continue to rise, and it is expected to exceed 13%in the fourth quarter, and will remain high next year.

The emotions of British consumers who are fully committed to inflation have fallen into the bottom. A survey by market research institutions Jefukai showed that the British consumer confidence index was -41 in July, the lowest level since the investigation began in 1974.

The downgrade caused by the rise in prices is directly reflected in the recent low retail data of Britain. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics of the United Kingdom, British retail sales decreased by 0.1%again in June after May this year. Data from Nielsen IQ showed that in the four weeks of July 16, supermarket sales decreased by 4.1%year -on -year. Among them, the sales of meat, fish and poultry fell by 9.4%, while the sales of daily necessities and packaging foods decreased by 8.1%and 6.4%, respectively.

What is even more worrying is that the price of natural gas in Europe remains high. Many people are worried that by the peak energy use of this winter, the poorest families will face difficult choices of "eating or heating".

- END -