Rents and mortgage interest costs continue to climb

Rents and mortgage costs are hugely outpacing the overall rate of inflation — even as the ECB keeps a tight lid on interest rates, according to official figures.

The CSO figures show that prices across its weighted basket of 51,000 goods and services that make up the Consumer Price Index fell back in July and increased by a modest 0.5% from July 2018 — and down from June’s annual inflation rate of 1.1%.