Flooring saw increasing evidence of rising retail prices in October, with deflation in August becoming inflation of more than 1% last month.
This is the first time in more than a year that it has been above 1%.
Since August, the rate, as measured by ONS, has gone from deflation of 0.5% to inflation of 0.1% to 1.1%.
The rise is a mixture of increasing carpet and rug prices and deflation easing for smooths.
Carpet and rugs inflation rose from 0.8% to 1.8% in October (it had been static in August with no inflation or deflation).
Smooths saw deflation slow from 4.3% in September – easily its highest rate in more than a year – to 3.6%.
Furnishings fabrics and curtains saw inflation plunge, falling from 2.9% to 0.1%.
Bed linen followed suit, dropping from 2.2% to 0.5%.
Table linen and bathroom linen inflation proved more stubborn, at 2.2%, after September’s 3.5%.
