At the end of June the island’s annual headline rate was 5.5%, a rise from 4.8% at the end of the March quarter, although the increase in prices logged by the Retail Price Index was smaller in the past three months than it was from January to March (1.7% compared to 2.1%).

The comparable RPI figures for the UK and Jersey were 4.6% and 5.6% respectively.

Research done in calculating the RPI shows that housing is still the dominant contributor, even though there were decreases in mortgage costs during the quarter as the Bank of England reduced the interest rate.

These were offset by increases in the cost of home improvements and rents.

The majority of food prices went up, as they have in the UK, the cost of heating oil and motor fuel rose and the cost of travel was also on the rise.

RPIX, RPI excluding the mortgage interest component, saw a rise from 4.3 to 5.4%, which indicated the core inflationary pressures in the economy, focusing on oil and food.

Guernsey’s figure is ahead of the UK but lower than Jersey. All three jurisdictions reflected increased prices and inflationary pressures over the past few months.

Deputy Jack Honeybill, deputy minister of the Treasury and Resources Department, accepted that the managing inflation in the island was "difficult."

"We don't want to be seen to be doing nothing but it is difficult for us to influence many of the RPI factors," he said, going on to add:

"5.5% is going to affect everybody but I think that the general public have been bracing themselves for this. They are conscious of the price of oil and the increased cost of services as a result."