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Household spending climbed in 2011 as budgets got tighter
AVERAGE weekly household spending climbed to its highest ever level last year – but fell in real terms because of inflation.
UK households spent an average of £483.60 a week in 2011 – around £10 a week or 2.1 per cent more than in 2010 – according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
But, adjusted for inflation, household spending in 2010 was £498.20 a week, showing families were getting less for their money last year.
Within last year’s figure, spending on motor fuels jumped 15.3 per cent from £21.60 per week to £24.90 per week, as consumers fought to keep up with price hikes.
But consumer price inflation stayed at four per cent or higher for the whole of 2011, even hitting 5.2 per cent in the year to September.