• High utility, transport and clothes costs behind rise
• CPI hits 4.5% for August, up from 4.4% in July
• RPI, used for wage negotiations, hits 5.2%

The consumer prices index rose to 4.5% in August, up from 4.4% in July, driven by the biggest annual rise in water and energy bills in more than two years. A surge in the cost of clothing and footware last month also drove CPI higher, according to data from the ONS.

More notably –  inflation is racing ahead of average earnings.